Shahadat Hossain Tamal, 25, who was shot in the chest, said his attackers were robbers but police described it as a sequel to previous enmity.

"I was sleeping inside the depot adjacent to our house at 58, Rayerbazar when a group of 6-7 armed youths barged in. They looted and vandalised the depot and one of them shot me before leaving," Tamal said at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where he was first taken before being shifted to Chest Diseases Hospital.

Another source said the attackers shot Tamal as an act of revenge after failing to find his father Monir Hossain who allegedly cheated them in connection with manpower export.

Mohammadpur police said no case was filed and no-one arrested till the filing of this report at 6:00pm.