Police said on Sunday that they arrested the prime accused in the killing of an Awami League politician and a female college student in city's Shahjahanpur from Bogura district on Sunday.

Arrestee Masum Mohammad Akash, 34, admitted to have shot and killed AL politician Zahidul Islam Tipu, who was in a microbus, and Samia Afrin Preeti, a 22-year-old college, who was a rickshaw stuck in a jam on Thursday night, police said.

Tipped off, Khilgaon Zonal team of Detective Branch (Motijheel Division) under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), conducted a drive in Bogura district with the help of local police and arrested Akash, said Faruk Hossain, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

During police interrogation, Akash admitted that he followed Tipu to kill and when the vehicle carrying Tipu reached near Shahjahanpur Rail gate he opened fire on him.

Akash was also wanted in four other criminal cases, said police.

Briefing reporters at DMP media centre on Sunday afternoon, Additional Commissioner (DB) of the DMP KM Hafiz Akhtar said

the day before the killing shooter Akash planned to kill him. He followed Tipu when he was on his way home from a restaurant but failed because there were too many people.

After the killing, the shooter Masum was supposed to leave the country through the border. For this reason, he left for Joypurhat by a rented car on the day of the incident. He was supposed to cross the border from there. Unable to go on the first day, Masum moved to Bogra. The next day he was to cross the border to India. Later, a team of Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police arrested Masum with the help of Bogra district Superintendent of Police (SP), he said.

Hafiz said one of Akash's associates was also behind the incident and he would be arrested. Police also hope to find the motorcycles and weapons used in the murder.

Asked how much money was contracted for Tipu's murder, the DB chief said it was not known how much. However, there are several cases in the area against arrested Akash. He got the contract to kill Tipu to escape from those cases, he added.

On the day of the incident, on March 24, an unidentified person stayed at the Grand Sultan restaurant owned by Tipu and started to update Akash. The shooter then shot and killed Tipu on his way home. Preeti Jamal, a ricksha passenger and also a college student, killed in the same firing.

Replying to another question, Hafiz said, "Our data, the information obtained from the investigation, the information collected from the previous day all tell us that Akash was the shooter in Tipu's murder." He also admitted that he fired the shots.

According to DB, Akash runs has a dish cable business in Goran area of the capital. After he called his wife after the killing, it was confirmed that he had killed Tipu.

Tipu was a former general secretary of AL Motijheel committee and Priti was a student of Begum Badrunnesa Government College, were killed. Tipu's driver was injured.

The crime occurred in front of Islami Bank Hospital around 10.15pm when Zahidul was returning home in his car and Samia on a cycle rickshaw with her friend, police said.

"They were all stuck in a traffic jam in the area when a biker wearing a helmet and a mask appeared from nowhere and fired at them.

The three sustained bullet injuries and were soon rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where Zahidul and the student died of their injuries hours later.

Later a case has been filed against unidentified people over the double murder on Friday.