The arrestee, Faizul Islam, an assistant accountant of public works department (PWD), who was held from Newmarket area, said the lawyer was murdered as she had failed to provide him (Faizul) with the job for which she took Tk 12 lakh from him.

During a press briefing at Rab-2 office in the capital, Faizul told reporters that he stabbed Sayma first and then three others who accompanied him to Sayma's residence slit her throat.

He also named the three other murderers, but Rab did not disclose the names to the press for the sake of investigation.

He said Sayma took Tk 5 lakh in different phases during 2001, promising to get him the job of a traffic sergeant but she failed.

Later Sayma took Tk 7 lakh more from him, promising that he would be given a cadre service job under the 27th BCS with the help of the then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, he added.

After the arrest of Babar, Sayma told Faizul that it was not possible to get him any job. As Faizul demanded return of the money ha had paid, Sayma intimidated him of police arrest and declined to return the money. Faizul continued to put pressure on Sayma to get back the money.

On the day of assassination, he along with three friends went to Sayma's residence to get it written on a stamp that she would return the money within a stipulated time, Faizul said. The three friends were waiting outside the entrance to the apartment when Faizul went inside.

When Faizul insisted that Sayma sign on the stamp, she threatened to hand Faizul and his companions over to police. At one stage Sayma went inside another room when Faizul opened the flat entrance and the three waiting persons entered.

As Sayma returned to the room again, Faizul hit her on the head with a knife and the three others murdered the advocate. During the tussle with Sayma, Faizul got two fingers of both the hands cut.

Faizul went to the basin to wash the blood coming out from the cuts, when Mina, one of the two domestic helps of Sayma, saw and talked with him.

Faizul left the room immediately after the slitting of Sayma's throat while the three others left the apartment confirming her death.

Sayma's husband Zahirul Islam, a retired PWD engineer, told The Daily Star yesterday that the story of his wife's taking money from Faisal is totally fabricated and baseless.

"Faizul once worked as my peon and how come he would be made an officer under BCS cadre," he said.

Faizul, however, claimed that he completed honors and masters in Economics from Dhaka College.

Faizul and Sayma had been known to each other since Faizul's boyhood and he used to address the woman 'amma', the arrestee said.

M Akbar Ali, commanding officer of Rab-2, said that they got the clue to the murder from the call list of a cell phone set they seized from Sayma's residence following the killing.

Mina, who is now on a seven-day remand along with Aleya, another domestic help of Sayma, at New Market Police Station, identified Faizul as the person who visited the residence that day.

Advocate Sayma was killed inside her apartment on the 15th floor of Prince Tower on Elephant Road on July 17.