Asif Akbar believes he was the target of the shooting, survived as he was not in car

Photo: Collected

Assailants opened fire on singer Asif Akbar’s car, parked in front of Bishal Centre in the capital’s Moghbazar, at around 4:45am on Saturday (24 October). No one was injured in the shot fired by an unidentified person; the singer himself was not in the car at the time.

Asif Akbar has now spoken out about the incident. He believes he was the assailants’ target and that he survived because he was not in the car.

Giving an update on his physical condition on Saturday afternoon, Asif said he was completely well. In the morning, after completing the necessary formalities with the police, he returned home, took his medicine and fell asleep. In the afternoon, senior police officials visited his home to talk about the incident.

Asked why he might have been targeted, Asif said the attackers may have known his daily routine. He usually goes to his office between 8pm and 8:30pm and returns home before or after the Fajr prayer.

According to the singer, he was at his office at the time of the incident. He noticed it while checking the CCTV camera footage, but did not hear the gunshot.

Asif Akbar said those who did this knew very well when he goes to the office and when he leaves. He believes they may have targeted him after working out those timings. However, he could not say exactly who was involved.

Describing the incident, the singer said he was due to come down shortly afterwards. He fears that things could have turned out differently had he been near the car at that time.

Asif is not sure whether the incident stemmed from a personal dispute, enmity or some other reason. Nor does he have any specific information that would lead him to suspect anyone.

Hatirjheel Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Asaduzzaman said Asif Akbar has a personal office in Moghbazar. Shots were fired at his car, parked in front of Bishal Centre, in the early hours, but no one was injured.

An internal police report says the car was parked in the parking area beneath the Bishal Centre market. At around 4:45am, an unidentified person arrived in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and fired a shot at the car. Acting on information received via the national emergency service 999, Hatirjheel Police Station went to the scene. Later, the car’s rear window was opened and a bullet cartridge was recovered from inside.

It has not yet been established who was involved in the incident or with what motive the shot was fired. Police are investigating to find out the reason behind it.