Dhaka: The body of Bangladeshi expatriate imam Maulana Alauddin Akhonjee, who was shot to death along with his assistant by a gunman in New York City on Saturday, arrived home on Thursday morning.

Earlier, Emirates flight EK202 left JFK, New York at about 11:00pm on Wednesday carrying the remains of Akhonjee and the flight EK 582 reached Dhaka from Dubai at about 9:00am on Thursday, Shameem Ahsan, consul general at Bangladesh Consulate in New York told UNB.

It could not be known immediately when the body will be taken to the deceased’s home town Habiganj from Dhaka.

The imam and his assistant, also a Bangladeshi expatriate, were gunned down in a brazen daylight attack by a terrorist in New York City while returning home from a mosque after Zohr prayers.

Akhonjee, 55, resident of Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj while the other victim, Tera Uddin, 64, from Lakshmipasha village in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet district.

Alauddin, father of three sons and five daughters, had gone to the US along with his first wife, one son and four daughters in 2011.

His second wife, two sons and a daughter are living in Shayestanagar of the district town.