MP wanted by police goes to Parliament ‘unseen’

​An MP wanted by police in a murder case has signed on the attendance book in Parliament but security officers deny having seen him.

There is a warrant out for Awami League’s Amanur Rahman Khan Rana, who represents Tangail-3, for the murder of Faruk Ahmed, another leader of the ruling party.

Several Parliament Secretariat employees confirmed to bdnews24.com that he had hastily left the lobby after signing the attendance register but without taking part in the session on Monday.

Police have been claiming that Rana was absconding ever since the issue of a warrant on Apr 6, prompting a court to order the seizure of his assets on May 17.

The last time he attended Parliament was in July last year. An MP is liable to lose membership if he or she is absent for 90 consecutive working days.

The arrest of an MP inside the Parliament complex requires the Speaker’s consent. MP Rony entered the premise around 11am in his own car, according to personnel guarding the main entrance.

But Parliament’s Sergeant-at-Arms Commodore Syed Ariful Islam and his deputy (operation) Selim Khan said they were not aware of his arrival.

On Monday, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury conducted the proceedings of the House for some time. Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia took over from her.

Mia declined to comment on the issue when asked by journalists.

“I heard today (Tuesday) that Amanur Rahman Rana was here,” Chief Whip ASM Feroz told reporters. “He didn’t take part in the session. We would have noticed if he did.”

Faruk, a member of the Awami League’s district committee, was shot dead on Jan 18, 2013. His wife Nahar Ahmed filed a murder case, accusing unknown assailants at the Tangail Model Police Station three days later.

Subsequently, she claimed at a press conference that her husband had been killed because he wanted to contest for the position of Awami League general secretary in the district, and held Rana and his three brothers – ‘Mukti’, ‘Kakan’ and ‘Bappa’ - members of an influential Tangail family, responsible.

Rana’s uncle Shamsur Rahman Khan Shahjahan was an Awami League leader and MP. His nephews assumed leadership after his death.

Police officers said Anisul Islam Raza and Mohammad Ali, two men close to the Khan family arrested in connection Faruk Ahmed’s murder, had implicated Rana and his brothers in their confessional statements before the court.

On Feb 3, Tangail Detective Branch OC Golam Mahfizur Rahman submitted the chargesheet, naming 14 people including Rana.

Rana and his brother former Tangail Municipal Mayor Shahidur Rahman Khan Mukti had approached the High Court, seeking anticipatory bail.

The court had directed the law enforcers not to arrest or harass them. But the order was stayed in December.

Among those accused, Rana and Mukti’s brothers – former Bangladesh Chhatra League vice-president Saniyat Khan Bappa and former Tangail Chamber of Commerce president Jahidur Rahman Khan Kankan – are reported to have left the country.

Rana and Mukti are both in Bangladesh, but police maintain they are trying to catch them but are yet to succeed.​