Arms dealer Md. Majedul Haque Helal has confessed in court under Section 164 in connection with the murder of Inquilab Mancha spokesman Sharif Osman Hadi. Police produced Helal before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Saturday after a three-day remand. He voluntarily agreed to give a confessional statement, which was recorded by Magistrate Arifur Rahman following a request from CID Assistant Superintendent Abdul Kadir Bhuiyan. Helal was later sent to jail.

Helal, owner of Hamidul Haque Arms & Co. in Chattogram, was arrested earlier from the same city. Investigators traced the pistol used in Hadi’s killing to his shop, revealing that the weapon had changed hands through several licensed dealers since its import in 2017. Helal’s arms license, originally issued in his father’s name, had expired in 2014 and was not renewed. Police sought his remand to determine how the weapon reached the attackers.

Hadi was shot on December 12 last year in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and later died in Singapore on December 18. The case was later transferred to the CID for further investigation.