The recovery of the driver's body and retrieval of another body in 19 pieces that matched the complexion of cloth trader Shamsul Haq fuelled family and businesspeople's fears, but police could not resolve the case until last night.

Haq and his son Russell went missing after they left their Sutrapur house by their private car on Friday, 11 hours before driver Moazzem's body was found in the rear seat of the car in Dautia village near Dhamrai Police Station at 11:30pm.

The 35-year-old driver's body bore multiple stab wounds in the chest, back, hands and stomach.

The recovery of the body parts and another beheaded young man's body by Dhanmondi police yesterday stoked the fears of Haq and Russell's death.

NINETEEN BODY PARTS
Dhanmondi police said an unknown man called them at 7:00am yesterday to inform the finding of body parts strewn to the south of Abahani ground.

Police found 13 pieces a man's body with his head, hands and legs missing.

Another caller told the police half an hour later that body parts were also strewn on the north side of the ground.

The law-enforcers rushed to the scene and retrieved six parts that resembled with the pieces recovered earlier.

Police took the pieces to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy and morgue sources said after examination that the man was aged about 50 years.

The body of the young man, aged about 30 and clad in a black shirt and ash trousers, was found in a gunny bag with his hands and legs tied with ropes near the staff quarters in Dhanmondi.

A woman's photograph, some foreign bank notes and a diary was near him.

Establishing Moazzem's identity with the car documents, Dhamrai police contacted Haq's family.

The trader's son-in-law, Nayeem Ahmed, went to Dhamrai and identified Moazzem's body.

Alarmed by Moazzem's body recovery, Haq's family went to Dhanmondi Police Station on hearing the recovery of twin bodies.

"The complexion of the aged man matches with my father-in-law's," Nayeem said, adding the young man's body did not match Russell's.

FATAL DISPUTE
Haq's family hinted at property dispute at the core of the trouble that might have claimed the life of the businessman and his son.

They said Haq paid Tk 30 lakh two months ago to own half of eight-storey SH Mansion at Sadarghat with former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Kajal as a partner.

Haq agreed to sign the Mansion agreement with Kajal, accused of killing police sergeant Farhad on Jagannath University College campus, after paying Tk 2 more lakh.

"After he received a call on his mobile phone at 12:30pm, he went out along with his son with Tk 2 lakh. They travelled by the family car with Moazzem driving it," said Harunur Rashid, a cousin of Haq.

"Haq called his wife Sufia Begum at 5:00pm and told her that he was returning home soon as he could not finish the task he went out to handle," Nayeem said.

"As Moazzem witnessed the incident, criminals also killed him to remove the lone witness," a family member suggested.

"Although we have not received Russell's body, we believe he has also been killed and dumped somewhere else."

"We are yet to find out any evidence," said Khan Sayeed Hasan, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's south zone.

"It appears that the businessman was killed somewhere else before his body was dumped here."

Haq is the president of Sadarghat Cloth Association, member of Bangladesh Shop-Owners' Association, vice-president of Sadarghat Santrash Protirodh Committee and was the chairman of Bechagaon union in Munshiganj.

FEAR FUELS ANGER
The apparent killing of Haq fuelled anger among traders of the old quarter of Dhaka who have long been demanding government action to curb crime attacks on businessespeople and businesses.

"The businessman went missing along with his son in daylight in Dhaka when 100 plain-clothes police teams, scores of joint teams of police and Bangladesh Rifles and 20 mobile magistrate courts were operating in Dhaka to cut crime," said an old-Dhaka trader, fuming.

"It's totally unacceptable. We demand prompt government action."

He said the businesspeople of Sadrghat would sit in a meeting today to finalise their next course of action.