Ashish plotted murder of actor Sohel Chy: RAB

The murder of actor Sohel Chowdhury in 1998 had been orchestrated by Ashish Rai Choudhury, the Rapid Action Battalion has said a day after his arrest in connection with the case, reports bdnews24.com.
Ashish was apprehended on Tuesday in Dhaka's Gulshan, nearly 24 years after the actor's killing.
On Dec 18, 1998, Sohel was shot dead near the Trumps Club in Banani, the elite police unit's spokesman Khandaker Al Moin said on Wednesday.
His brother, Touhidul Islam Chowdhury, pressed murder charges with the Gulshan Police Station the same day.
Police indicted nine people in 1999 and the case was later forwarded to the Speedy Trial Tribunal.
But the trial stalled as Adnan Siddiqui, a key suspect, appealed for the dismissal of the case. The High Court later paused the proceedings in 2004.
In 2015, the High Court reversed its previous ruling and removed the stay order. The court also issued arrest warrants for all the suspects in the case on Mar 28.
Film producer and controversial businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai also had alleged links to the killing of Sohel.
Ashish was one of the owners of the Trumps Club. Afaqul Islam aka Bunti Islam, Sanjidul Islam Emon, Adnan Siddiqui, Tariq Sayeed Mamun, Selim Khan, Harun Ur Rashid and Farooq Abbasi were also charged in the case.
Moin said Aziz Mohammad Bhai used to visit the club frequently to hold meetings with 'underworld gangs'. He developed a friendship with Bunti and Ashish, who were childhood friends. Bunti was also married to Ashish's niece.
All three of them used to run criminal activities at the Trumps Club, Moin said.
The club was situated next to the Banani Jame Masjid, which was the biggest mosque in Banani at the time, Ashish told the RAB during interrogation.
But Sohel, who was a part of the mosque committee, became a thorn in their side as he had tried to stop the illicit activities at the club on several occasions.
His protests had severely hampered the business interests of Ashish and Bunti.
Also, Aziz Mohammad Bhai used Trumps Club as a hub for maintaining connections with the underworld. Sohel's activities had not gone down well with him either.
Ashish said 'notorious criminal' Sanjidul Haque Emon would also use the club as a safe house. The interests of all these people would have suffered if the club was shut down.
According to Moin, Ashish told the RAB that Sohel had an altercation with Aziz Mohammad Bhai on Jul 24, 1998. Later, an enraged Aziz Mohammad asked Bunti and Ashish to deal with Sohel.
Emon was the one who shot Sohel dead, according to Ashish.
Moin said Ashish planned to flee to Canada on Apr 7 after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Although he worked in different notable companies over the years, Ashish went into hiding in a Gulshan house after the arrest warrant came out.
A managing director of a five-star hotel had arranged the house for Ashish, Moin said, without disclosing the name.
Ashish is still in contact with Aziz Mohammad Bhai, who fled to Bangkok, as well as Bunti and Adnan, who are in Canada and the US respectively, according to the RAB official.
Among the accused, Tariq Sayeed Mamun, Leather Liton and Farooq Abbasi are in jail. Another suspect Selim is still in hiding, said Moin.