May 22, 2025
DHAKA – What began as a seemingly harmless obsession with TikTok turned into a chilling tale of murder in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh, where a photographer was killed on May 16.
The alleged killers — aged between 18 and 20 — often created and shared photos and videos on TikTok.
Striving for higher-quality and more attractive content, they decided they needed a DSLR camera. But instead of buying one, they plotted to snatch it from a photographer by luring him to a fake wedding.
The victim, Nurul Islam, had no idea he was walking into a trap. He was called to cover the fake event and was stabbed to death before the attackers fled with his two expensive cameras.
The police revealed the details of the incident yesterday, after Hazaribagh police arrested 10 suspects from different parts of Dhaka and Mymensingh.
“They wanted better videos and eye-catching photos for TikTok. Since their phones couldn’t deliver the quality they wanted, they became desperate to get a DSLR camera,” said Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of Ramna Division Police, at the DMP media centre yesterday. Police recovered the two stolen cameras, he said.
The alleged killers—aged between 18 and 20—often created and shared photos and videos on TikTok. PHOTO: COLLECTED/THE DAILY STAR
The plan was made a week before the murder. Nayeem Ahmed, the ringleader, promised the group he would find and lure a photographer, said police officials.
They searched Facebook pages and contacted Nurul Islam, an event photographer. Claiming to be organising a wedding, they hired him and paid him Tk 500 in advance.
On the evening of May 16, Nurul, a resident of Motijheel AGB Colony, and his assistant Emon arrived at Sankar bus stand in West Dhanmondi, where Nayeem received them.
Pretending to take them to the wedding venue, he led them onto a battery-run rickshaw and headed toward the Jafrabad area.
Around 8:00pm, as they reached a house named “Kshanikalay” in Rishipara, a group of youths suddenly blocked the rickshaw.
Frightened, Emon managed to flee. As the attackers tried to grab Nurul’s camera bag, he resisted. When he refused to hand it over, they attacked him with sharp weapons, leaving him critically injured. The attackers then fled with the cameras and the bag.
The nine other arrestees are Shahin Akanda alias Shahinul, Shaheen Chowkidar, Rahim Sarker, Nayan Ahmed, Ridoy Madbar, Abdur Razzak, Anwar Hossain, and Arman.
Osman Gani, brother of the victim, said they heard the police had arrested the accused. “We demand fair trial and justice,” he added.