Hoodlums reportedly led by a local ward commissioner's son-in-law beat a small leather trader dead in front of the commissioner's office at Hazaribagh.

Police arrested four alleged killers while they were trying to take away the body of the 25-year-old victim, Mobarak Hossain, in a white microbus.

Witnesses said eight local youths took Mobarak to Sher-e-Bangla Road in Hazaribagh tannery area at around 5:30pm and beat him up with hockey and bamboo sticks. Javed, son-in-law of Commissioner Harunur Rashid of Ward no 48, was leading the youths, locals said.

The gang then took Mobarak to the commissioner's office at about 7:30pm and beat him up again. He died on the spot.

Wrapping the body with a blanket, the killers hid it under a sofa in a room adjacent to Paye Paye Shoe Factory. Locals said Javed used the room for criminal activities.

Being informed, Hazaribagh police rushed to the spot at 8:30pm when the killers were preparing to take away the body in the microbus. Police nabbed four of the gang, while others managed to flee. Names of the arrestees could not be known immediately.

Police recovered the body and sent it to Mitford Hospital. They also seized some hockey sticks used in the killing and took the microbus to their custody.

Police said Mobarak was killed following a feud with Javed and some local criminals over his business.

At Mohammadpur, unknown assailants beat a youth aged 25 dead at a fish market near Geneva camp at around 11:30pm. The identity of the youth could not be known.

On information, a police patrol team rushed to the spot and recovered the body. They sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.