Bangladeshi immigrant murders his landlord in New York.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A Bangladeshi man has been arrested in New York City for allegedly being the perpetrator of a brutal murder that left its victim burned and nearly beheaded, as well as robbing the man of $20,000.
Twenty-seven year-old Rasel Siddiquee was arrested earlier this week for killing his landlord, Mahuddin Mahmud, with a sword. Investigators are still putting together the pieces, trying to figure out exactly what the motive is and how the slaying itself actually went down at the 546 McDonald Avenue property in Brooklyn, New York, but so far certain facts are known.
Sidiquee moved to Brooklyn about five years ago, and almost immediately began living in the basement of a building owned by Mahmud, a business owner and father of two children. Initially thought to be just a temporary arrangement, Sidiquee ended up staying for years and rarely ever paid any kind of rent, according to family member who survive Mahmud.
Sidiquee’s inability to hold a job was cited as the reason for his not being able to pay rent, although Mahmud still allowed him to live in the building’s basement, where Mahmud kept a small office. According to Mahmud’s brother, who spoke with The New York Times, Mahmud allowed Sidiquee to stay in the building because he believed the Bangladeshi immigrant to be an honest person, and didn’t want to be responsible for anything bad that may happen to him if he was evicted.
Mahmud was also from Bangladesh, having left the country a quarter-century ago to come to America. He owned several businesses around the New York City area, including grocery and jewelry stores, and had rented the building Sidiquee was residing in to a small IT firm.
Things took an ugly turn, however, over a dispute regarding money. According to investigators, an argument occurred during which Mahmud allegedly teased Siddiquee about being poor, which riled Sidiquee to the point that he took a sword to Mahmud, giving him deep lacerations in his neck that ultimately killed him. Siddiquee apparently told police that Mahmud humiliated him, instigating the attack.
As he was being handcuffed and taken into custody, Sidiquee admitted his guilt to the media, saying “I guess so, yes” when asked if he killed Mahmud. Sidiquee also allegedly stole $20,000 from Mahmud after killing him.
A 911 call was allegedly placed from the building at 8 PM on Monday night, to which police responded but did nothing, as the building was locked. The following night, Mahmud’s brother discovered his partially charred body in the basement and called police again, who found Sidiquee shortly thereafter.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com