Raiganj, Sept. 9 -- Police have arrested another person for his alleged direct involvement in the killing of school headmaster Najrul Islam at Madaripur in Islampur, North Dinajpur. The accused, Anjamul Alam, a resident of Aguratia village in Islampur, was arrested from Vita in Sangli district of Maharashtra. He has been brought to Islampur Police Station on transit remand on Tuesday night and is being interrogated.

According to police, Alam was allegedly keeping watch on Najrul before the murder and is suspected to have played a direct role in the crime. With his arrest, four persons, including a woman, have so far been arrested in connection with the shootout.

On August 29, police had arrested Minnata Khatun, a teacher at a local Sishu Sikkha Kendra (SSK), from her residence at Vivekananda Para in Islampur. She was allegedly the mastermind behind the killing. Police subsequently arrested another accused, Mahammad Musaraf alias Lala, a resident of Islampur, from Delhi. Mahammad Sahil was later arrested from Kajivasti in Thakurganj, Bihar.

Najrul Islam (57), headmaster of Ramganj Rajbhim FP School and former president of the Trinamool Congress Primary Education Cell of Islampur block, was shot dead on August 8 while on the way to school on his motorcycle. Police said two unidentified miscreants intercepted him at Madaripur and opened fire. He sustained a bullet injury in his abdomen and died while being taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital.

After the murder, police visited the residence of the deceased and seized his mobile phone as part of the investigation. Rukshana Khatun, wife of the deceased, said the family had informed police that a money transaction could have been the motive behind the murder.

Rakesh Singh, Superintendent of Police, Islampur Police District, said: "We arrested one accused from Maharashtra. He was brought to Islampur and is being interrogated. Four accused persons have been arrested so far. The investigation is continuing."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.