The ongoing investigation into the murder of Jhenaidah-4 Constituency MP Anwarul Azim Anar has begun to reveal mysterious names during remand interrogations. From politicians to influencers, various figures have been implicated, though detectives remain uncertain about their actual involvement.
Authorities are focusing on Aktaruzzaman Shahin, a US expatriate identified as the primary planner of the murder. To further the investigation, the Bangladesh police will seek assistance from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to extradite Shahin for questioning. "Many questions will be answered if mastermind Shahin is interrogated," stated Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman to Bangladesh Pratidin on Friday. He added, "Within a day or two, we will seek Interpol's help to bring him under the law."
In conjunction with local efforts, a three-member delegation from the Detective Branch (DB) police will soon travel to Kolkata to advance the investigation. The DMP Commissioner emphasized that both Bangladeshi and Indian police are collaborating to recover Anar's body.
On Friday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Dilruba Afroz Tithi granted an eight-day remand for the three suspects arrested in connection with MP Anar's murder: Tanvir, Shimul Bhuiyan, and Silisti Rahman. These individuals were brought to court, where DB Police Assistant Commissioner Mahfuzul Islam requested a 10-day remand for further interrogation. The suspects were arrested last Thursday following two days of continuous questioning by law enforcement.
The death of MP Anar was confirmed eight days after his disappearance. During interrogation, the arrested suspects revealed that Shahin had instructed them to ensure the murder was executed meticulously, leaving no evidence behind. Despite their efforts to cover their tracks, the suspects were apprehended by police, shedding light on the orchestration of the crime.
A source related to the investigation said that until now the dispute between MP Anar and Aktaruzzaman Shahin regarding the gold deal is coming up. Many others have added fuel to that dispute. Because Shaheen could not collect the huge sum owed to Anar. Being the MP of the border area, he could not avoid bringing gold in any way. But some mysterious names are emerging who had political and business conflicts with Anar.
In the meantime, the concerned have spoken to the family members of the deceased several times about this issue. Suspects have been kept under surveillance. But they don't want to say anything official about them right now without being sure. Apart from this, representatives of two members of the Indian Police, Shashi Sarkar and Venkata Bhatah Verma, spoke to the arrested several times till on Friday. They came to Dhaka on May 23.
According to DB sources, the accused arrested during the interrogation said that the main planner of the murder, Aktaruzzaman Shahin, has long-time dispute over MP Anwarul Azim Anar's gold business dealings. Aktaruzzaman Shahin got angry with Anwarul Azim about some other matters related to the transaction. Anwarul Azim did not understand this.
Citing the information received from the Indian Police (CID), investigators said Jihad Howladar, alias Kasai Jihad, who was arrested in Kolkata, gave a gruesome account of the murder of MP Anar. The CID conducted a day-long operation on Friday to recover the body parts. Because, he admitted to the CID, some parts of the body were dumped in the Hatishala waste canal near Battala in Kolkata. However, nothing could be recovered till yesterday evening. Kolkata CID took Jihad on 12-day remand on the orders of the court.
Sources also said that Syed Amanullah alias Shimul Bhuiyan had planned for a long time to kill MP Anar and hide the body. Amanullah, a violent cadre of the East Bengal Communist Party, was jailed for 20 years in two murder cases. It was on his advice that Kasai Jihad was flown from Mumbai two months ago to complete the murder and the disappearance of the body. He was given a large sum of money.
Scenes from CCTV footage: MP Anar was killed in a flat in Kolkata's Newtown, police released a CCTV footage from there. It can be seen that two people are leaving the door of the flat at 5:00:05 am on May 14. One of them is carrying a light green colored trolleybag. Another has a few polythene bags. They were getting into the elevator.
Police said that MP Annar was killed on May 13 in a triplex house in Newtown, Kolkata. The owner of that house is Sanjeev Ghosh, an employee of the State Customs Department. He rented the house to Aktaruzzaman Shahin, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin. The police searched the house and found nothing but blood stains. It was later learned that his body was dismembered and thrown out after dismembering the bones and flesh. Jihad Howladar, a from Mumbai, India was brought to Kolkata to kill Anwarul Azim Anar. Police remanded him for 12 days yesterday after his arrest last Thursday. How Annar's body was dismembered after he was killed has already received a thrilling account.
After questioning him, the Kolkata Police conducted a search in the Bagjola Canal near Krishnabati Bridge of Polerhat Police Station from Thursday night. The canal runs in front of the flat in Newtown area where Anar was murdered. However, till the writing of this report, no body part was found.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
