Suspect arrested in gruesome slaying of Bangladeshi American businessman

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Suspect Tyrese Haspil was arrested Friday morning.

The personal assistant of entrepreneur Fahim Saleh has been arrested as a suspect in the slaying of his former employer.

Officials close to the case but not authorized to discuss the case spoke on the condition of anonymity. One of them identified the suspect as 21-year-old Tyrese Haspil, who reportedly owed Saleh thousands of dollars.

Saleh, a 33-year-old Bangladeshi American, was found Tuesday (July 13) dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, said the two anonymous law enforcement officials.

The same sources believe that the motive for the killing stemmed from Saleh’s having discovered that the assistant had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, and Saleh  had not reported the man but had set up a repayment plan, reported The New York Times.

Saleh's body was discovered Tuesday by a cousin who became worried when Saleh didn't answer his attempts to contact him. Earlier reports incorrectly identified the relative as Saleh's sister.

Autopsy reports said that Saleh was killed on Monday from multiple stab wounds. The suspect apparently returned to the residence to clean up but was interrupted when the doorbell from the lobby rang.

Video shows a man dressed in all black, believed to be the suspect, leaving the building.

FAHIM SALEH

Saleh's family issued a statement Friday: "The headlines talk about a crime we still cannot fathom," the statement said. "Fahim is more than what you are reading. He is so much more. His brilliant and innovative mind took everyone who was a part of his world on a journey and he made sure never to leave anyone behind."

Saleh had founded two ride-sharing services in his native Bangladesh and Nigeria.

Authorities arrested Haspil at his apartment with no incident. The N.Y. Post obtained surveillance video showing cops walking the cuffed Haspil out from the lobby of 172 Crosby Street to a squad car just Friday morning.

Investigators were apparently led to the suspect by credit card statements, Uber receipts and text messages between Saleh and Haspil, along with electronic records, which is how police found out about the alleged embezzlement.

Dismembered body identified as that of tech entrepreneur

FAHIM SALEH

ASAM NEWS

The decapitated, dismembered body of a 33-year-old male was found inside of a Lower East Side apartment in New York City, New York Post reports.

Police found the body of Fahim Saleh at the East Houston Street apartment around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday after a cousin had requested a welfare check. Body parts were found in plastic bags. According to New York Post,  Saleh, is a venture capitalist and CEO of the Nigeria-based motorbike startup Gokada.

The Post has reported that a cousin requested a welfare check on Saleh. However, The Daily Mail says it was the victim’s sister that called police after she hadn’t heard from him for a day. She found upon his dismembered body when she went to check on him herself.

Sources told the New York Post that it looked like the killer had been interrupted when the sister rang the doorbell from the lobby. Authorities say investigators found an electric saw still plugged into an electrical outlet along with cleaning supplies.

Police also believe they have security footage of the killer, dressed in all black, entering the building with a bag and waiting for the victim to take the elevator. The recording shows the hit man following Saleh to his apartment door when he stunned the fictim with a stun gun.

Saleh was a Bangladeshi American who co-founded Pathao, a ride-hailing company in Bangladesh in 2015. Two years later, he founded Gokada, an on-demand motorbike-hailing company in Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2018, Saleh also launched the venture capital firm Adventure Capital. He invested in several transportation related start ups.

“We used to call him the Elon Musk of the developing world. He was like the Energizer Bunny,” a longtime friend told The Post.

Study: South Asian Americans have high tisk of heart fisease

ASAM NEWS

A RECENT MEDICAL STUDY finds a high risk of heart disease among South Asians living in the U.S due to genetics, reports NBC News. The study also highlights the importance of living a healthier lifestyle.

Anabelle Santos Volgman, the lead author of the report and medical director of the Rush Heart Center for Woman at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said that several factors had contributed to the increased risk of heart disease, including the fact that the South Asians are prone to bad cholesterol and diabetes.

“We don’t have an answer to why South Asians have a higher risk of diabetes, but there are many genetic theories that have not been substantiated,” she said, adding that the study published by the medical Journal Circulation of the American Heart Association was made to investigate the risk factors of heart disease.

South Asians in the states come from many countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The study found they have a higher death and hospitalization rate due to heart disease than others in the U.S.

According to Jwatch.com, the Associate Editor of NEJM Journal Watch Cardiology, Karol E. Watson, reviewed the study and said that dietary factors may contribute to the increased risk as many South Asians consume a high percentage of carbohydrates and saturated fats.

The study provides recommendations for South Asians to eat traditional whole grains and to have more physical exercise to decrease the level of cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of early diabetes.

“The lifestyle changes can make a big impact,” said Volgman. “What we need to emphasize is that they need to take heart disease seriously and seek help to determine if they are at high risk.”

South Asians immigrated to the United States in three waves beginning in the late 18th century. The first wave occurred from the 1890’s to the 1920’s. The second wave started after the establishment of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act sending a total of 20,000 skilled professionals and 25,000 physicians to the states.

A third wave of immigration in the mid 1980’s included extended family members and parents of thousands of professionals and physicians.

Data from the U.S Census Bureau shows that most of the South Asians in the states are originally from India followed by Bhutan and Nepal. Many reside in urban metropolitan areas in California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois.

New York subway bomber suspect charged with terrorist act

FEDERAL OFFICIALS have charged the man who attempted to bomb New York subway commuters for his alleged act of terrorism.

Akayed Ullah, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and a permanent resident from Bangladesh, has been charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with Ullah’s attempted detonation of a bomb in a subway terminal near the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on Dec. 11. At least three people were injured as a result of what appears to be a botched detonation.

Akayed Ullah

"The Department of Justice is relentless in taking on the terrorist threat," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "In my time back at the Department, nothing has impressed me more.

"Since 9/11, the Department has convicted more than 500 criminals of terrorism-related offenses, and the FBI has open terrorism investigations in every state."  

“Yesterday, in the heart of rush hour, as thousands came into New York City through the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Akayed Ullah allegedly came with a hate-filled heart and an evil purpose: to murder as many innocent people as he could and blow himself up in the process, all in support of the vicious terrorist cause of ISIS,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim.

The suspected terrorist, who came to this country in 2011, was apparently radicalized by internet sites espousing radicalism, say law enforcement officials.

Ullah's homemade pipe bomb, which was attached to his clothing with Velcro and twist ties, malfunctioned seriously injuring Ullah and slightly three nearby commuters.

Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi community. His wife still lives in Bangladesh.

“Although yesterday he allegedly stood in the tunnels under Port Authority plotting to kill, today he stands charged with federal crimes of terrorism.  Those alleged terrorists who target New York City do so because they feel threatened by the strength of our spirit, the height of our ambition and the breadth of our freedom.  They come seeking to sow hate, fear and terror.  But in New York City, they find instead strength, resilience and hope.  Like many before him, Akayed Ullah will also find another great American virtue: justice.  That justice will be tough, it will be fair and it will be swift.”

“The act of terror committed in New York City yesterday accomplished nothing,” said NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill.  “It has not changed our way of life. It was a cowardly act, fueled by a false sense of purpose — motivated by propaganda in the shadows of the internet.  What is clear is the resolve of New Yorkers to live in a free society, devoid of fear."