‘Well-trained killers killed Xulhaz and Tonoy’

The killers of gay-rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his theatre activist friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy were well-trained and they knew very well how to ensure immediate death, says the forensic doctor who conducted the autopsies.

“The killers had targeted specific areas of the victims’ bodies to cause immediate death which showed that it’s a handiwork of well-trained killers,” said Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) forensic department's Assistant Professor Md Sohel Mahmud.

USAID staff Xulhaz Mannan, aged 35 years, and his friend Tanoy, believed to be in his 36, an activist of theater group Loknatya Dal, were hacked to death at an apartment in Kalabagan area on Monday evening.

The criminals also stabbed Parvez Mollah, a guard of the building, leaving him injured. He was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.