Investigation into the murders of six people in Dhaka’s Gopibagh has made no headway even around one and a half years after the incident.
Published : 13 May 2015, 10:52 PM
The investigator in the case even has not been contact with the plaintiff for last six months.
Self-proclaimed saint Lutfor Rahman Faruk, his son Sarowar Islam Faruk alias Monir and four others were found slaughtered at their Gopibagh house on Dec 21, 2013.
After the murders, Detective Branch officers had said militants might have committed the crime.
So far police have only arrested four suspected Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh operatives with regard to the case.
Islami Front leader Nurul Islam Farooqi was murdered in the same style last year.
Detectives say murders of Farooqi and several bloggers have some connection with the slaughtering of six people in Gopibagh.
However, probe report on none of the murder cases, barring the one over killing of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider, has reached the court for a trial.
“Since then there is no contact. I would have known had there been any progress (in the investigation),” he said.
Faruk, younger son of Lutfor Rahman Faruk, said he had gone to DB office on some 15 occasions and provided all information that he had. “Since then everyone is silent.”
He filed the murder case with the Wari police on Dec 21, 2013, accusing 12 unknown men.
DB Inspector Abul Khair Matubbar was assigned to investigate the case.
Matubbar was promoted to police’s Special Branch several months back.
Asked about the new investigation officer, Faruk pleaded ignorance.
He said statements of several witnesses had been recorded under Section 166 of the Criminal Procedure Code but “I don’t know at what stage the investigation is now.”
When DB spokesperson Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam was asked last week who was now investigating the case, he said: “I will let you know.”
He could not be contacted since then on the mobile phone.
After the murder of Farooqi, Monirul Islam had said: “Both the murders were committed over religious ideologies. Fanatic religious groups committed the murders.”
According to documents of the case, four JMB members -- Md Azmir aka Amit, 29, of Noakhali, Md Golam Sarwar Rahat, 27, of Jhalakhati, Syed Ziaul Islam Jitu aka Nirob aka Humu aka Liyon, 28 , of Joypurhat and Md Al-Amin, 28, of Mymensingh -- were shown arrested in the case.
The first investigation officer Abul Khair Matubbar had grilled the four on several occasions but the report he had prepared after the interrogation contained nothing to make any progress in the case.
The report only says: “The accused have divulged important information during the interrogation. The information is being examined.”
Plaintiff Faruk sought intervention of the government to end the impasse in the case.
According to the case statement, several men had entered the Gopibagh house and slit the throats of Faruk, his son Sarwar Islam Faruk Monir and his followers Monjur Alam Monju, Md Shahin, ‘Rasel’, and Mujibul Sarker.