Two years apart, Noakhali brothers killed by robbers in South Africa

Two brothers from Noakhali district have lost their lives in an eerily similar fashion in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province Lusikisiki, a town in Ngquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape provinceWhile Iftekhar Hossain, the younger of the two, was shot dead by robbers in his business establishment in 2014, his elder brother Abrar Hossain got killed in exactly the same way on Monday night. Abrar, the second son of Shamsunnahar Begum, was the first in the family to leave for South Africa way back in 1990. Hailing from Sonapur, a small village in Noakhali’s Sadar upazila, Shamsunnahar did not know much about South Africa apart from the issue of apartheid. She had tried to dissuade Abrar and told him to look for opportunities in the Middle East like everyone else.
However, Abrar paid no heed to her warnings. Three years later, Iftekhar, too, followed his elder brother to South Africa. Both settled down in Lusikisiki, a town in Ngquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, and made their own little fortune.
Her sons’ success allayed Shamsunnahar’s fear to a large extent, but it never left her completely. “I always wanted them to return home,” the septuagenarian said. Little did she know that her sons would return home in body bags.
Tragedy struck the family first when robbers shot dead Iftekhar on May 19, 2014. He was a schoolteacher and also owned a super store which he used to man after 5pm.
The shop was located in a relatively remote part of the suburbs of the town. According to local police records, some robbers came at the store at night, broke the cash box, and shot Iftekhar dead.
Abrar filed a case, but police never found the killers. Two years later, in a quirk of fate, Abrar met with the same destiny.
He owned a superstore as well as a petrol pump in Lusikisiki town. On Monday night, he was at the pump when a gang stormed it and killed him.
Abrar’s nephew Asruf-ul-Jubair, who lives in Dhaka, said Abrar was a successful businessman. Apparently, there had been several robberies in his superstore as well as the petrol pump.
Jubair said Abrar had recently won a land-dispute case against a local gangster. “He planned to build another petrol pump on the plot. The gangster had threatened him with death, but he didn’t step back,” he added.
Abrar’s wife Delwara Hossain apparently told Jubair over the phone that a few days back, someone had shot at Abrar, but he had escaped with minor injuries. However, his family wanted him to stay home for some time.
But on Monday, Abrar went to the pump around 7pm. Shortly afterwards, a gang of 10 to 12 people came to the pump and asked the employees about Abrar. None of the six employees at the pump gave away Abrar’s whereabouts. He was in a room behind the pump at that time. The gang then shot at the employees, killing three of them at once. Then they tortured one of the employees until he revealed where Abrar was. The gang then went and killed him without showing any mercy.
Jubair said the whole family was shattered now. “When Iftekhar was killed, his wife Shamima Hossain returned home with her son and daughter. We had asked her to stay here, but she insisted on going back to look after her husband’s business,” he narrated.
Abrar used to look after them. “Now, Abrar has been killed too. He has three daughters. There’s no male member of the family to run the businesses. There is no one to even file a case now,” rued Jubair.

 

Two years apart, Noakhali brothers killed by robbers in South Africa

Two brothers from Noakhali district have lost their lives in an eerily similar fashion in South Africas Eastern Cape Province Lusikisiki, a town in Ngquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape provinceWhile Iftekhar Hossain, the younger of the two, was shot dead by robbers in his business establishment in 2014, his elder brother Abrar Hossain got killed in exactly the same way on Monday night. Abrar, the second son of Shamsunnahar Begum, was the first in the family to leave for South Africa way back in 1990. Hailing from Sonapur, a small village in Noakhalis Sadar upazila, Shamsunnahar did not know much about South Africa apart from the issue of apartheid. She had tried to dissuade Abrar and told him to look for opportunities in the Middle East like everyone else. However, Abrar paid no heed to her warnings. Three years later, Iftekhar, too, followed his elder brother to South Africa. Both settled down in Lusikisiki, a town in Ngquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, and made their own little fortune. Her sons success allayed Shamsunnahars fear to a large extent, but it never left her completely. I always wanted them to return home, the septuagenarian said. Little did she know that her sons would return home in body bags. Tragedy struck the family first when robbers shot dead Iftekhar on May 19, 2014. He was a schoolteacher and also owned a super store which he used to man after 5pm. The shop was located in a relatively remote part of the suburbs of the town. According to local police records, some robbers came at the store at night, broke the cash box, and shot Iftekhar dead. Abrar filed a case, but police never found the killers. Two years later, in a quirk of fate, Abrar met with the same destiny. He owned a superstore as well as a petrol pump in Lusikisiki town. On Monday night, he was at the pump when a gang stormed it and killed him. Abrars nephew Asruf-ul-Jubair, who lives in Dhaka, said Abrar was a successful businessman. Apparently, there had been several robberies in his superstore as well as the petrol pump. Jubair said Abrar had recently won a land-dispute case against a local gangster. He planned to build another petrol pump on the plot. The gangster had threatened him with death, but he didnt step back, he added. Abrars wife Delwara Hossain apparently told Jubair over the phone that a few days back, someone had shot at Abrar, but he had escaped with minor injuries. However, his family wanted him to stay home for some time. But on Monday, Abrar went to the pump around 7pm. Shortly afterwards, a gang of 10 to 12 people came to the pump and asked the employees about Abrar. None of the six employees at the pump gave away Abrars whereabouts. He was in a room behind the pump at that time. The gang then shot at the employees, killing three of them at once. Then they tortured one of the employees until he revealed where Abrar was. The gang then went and killed him without showing any mercy. Jubair said the whole family was shattered now. When Iftekhar was killed, his wife Shamima Hossain returned home with her son and daughter. We had asked her to stay here, but she insisted on going back to look after her husbands business, he narrated. Abrar used to look after them. Now, Abrar has been killed too. He has three daughters. Theres no male member of the family to run the businesses. There is no one to even file a case now, rued Jubair.