Young man murdered over online gambling debts

A youth named Russell Ahmed was allegedly stabbed to death in Bogra Sadar over an online gambling debt. The incident took place at around 3 am on Wednesday (August 13) in Chak Sartaj village of the Upazila Sub-Gram Union. Meanwhile, the police have arrested a 17-year-old teenager named Siam, who is accused in the murder. The deceased Russell is the son of Abu Bakkar of the village and was working as a ward boy at the Bogra Diabetes Hospital. Relatives said that Russell fell asleep with his family after dinner on Wednesday. At midnight, a neighbor called Siam on Messenger and called him out of the house, promising to pay the debt. Siam then took him to an open field next to the house and stabbed him repeatedly on the chest and back with a sharp knife. Russell ran home to save his life and collapsed. Relatives quickly rescued Russell and took him to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where the doctor declared him dead. Police said that the accused Siam was arrested from Banani area on Wednesday morning while fleeing to Dhaka after the incident. During initial interrogation, he confessed to the murder and was taken to the spot under tight security by the police. Later, the sharp knife used in the murder was recovered from the spot shown by Siam. Police also said that Russell and Siam used to gamble together on multiple online apps. About a month ago, Russell demanded Tk 22,000 from Siam for gambling and started pressuring him. The murder took place due to a dispute over this. Bogra Additional Superintendent of Police Mostafa Manjur said, “The body of the deceased has been kept at the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital morgue. The body will be handed over to the family after the autopsy. A case is in the process of being filed against Siam, who was arrested in this incident. It is being investigated whether anyone else is involved in the murder.”