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Akhtaruzzaman alias Shaheen, a US citizen from Jhenaidah, has been named as the mastermind of the murder
Published : 23 May 2024, 10:23 PM
Akhtaruzzaman alias Shaheen, a US citizen from Bangladesh has been named as the prime suspect in the murder of Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar in Kolkata.
He masterminded the murder while the killers dismembered the body in small pieces to dump it, police have said.
Amanullah alias Shimul, an extremist leader from Khulna-Jashore region, carried out the killing with the help of Faysal, who was also identified with a single name, and Shilasti Rahman, Akhtaruzzaman’s girlfriend, according to police.
They hired two other people – Jahid alias Jihad and Siam – in Kolkata to implement Akhtaruzzaman’s plot, said Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid, chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch.
He briefed the media about their findings on Thursday as a team of detectives arrived in Dhaka from India as part of the investigation and they would interrogate Amanullah, Faysal and Shilasti, who had been arrested in Bangladesh.
Anar went missing after travelling to India for treatment around a week ago.
As his family were searching for him, the Indian media on Wednesday reported that he had been murdered in a flat in the West Bengal capital.
Police and ministers in Bangladesh also confirmed the murder of the ruling party lawmaker and the arrest of three Bangladeshis.
THE MURDER
Harunor said Akhtaruzzaman and the others plotted the murder in meetings in Gulshan and Baridhara a month ago.
Following the plan, they rented a flat in Kolkata on Apr 25. Akhtaruzzaman, Amanullah and Shilasti travelled to Kolkata from Dhaka by a flight on Apr 30.
“They wanted to make it look like a family,” Harunor said. Jahid and Siam were hired to help implement the plot.
Akhtaruzzaman came to Bangladesh on May 10 after fixing details of the plan – which car to hire, who will be paid how much, who will carry out the murder, according to the officer.
“They had been monitoring for two months when MP Anar would travel to Kolkata, as he often does. After reaching Kolkata on May 12, he got into his friend Gopal Biswas’ home. Faysal received Anar in a white car on May 13. They got in another car carrying Amanullah after some time,” Harunor said.
A man named Raja was driving the car, but he did not know about Akhtaruzzaman’s plan, the police detective said.
After they arrived in the flat, another person named Mustafiz entered the house, while Jihad and Siam were already there, he said.
“Everyone was inside by 2:51pm. MP Anar’s murder took half an hour. And an hour after the killing, one of them got out with MP Anar’s phone to male calls as part of a plan to confuse the family.”
HOW THE BODY WAS DISPOSED
Additional Commissioner Harunor said the assailants wanted to kill Anar abroad and dispose of the body in a manner that would leave it undiscovered.
“They dismembered the body into small pieces and separated the flesh from the bones, seasoning both with turmeric and spices to disguise them as market-bought animal meat,” explained Harunor.
He said Amanullah, Jihad and Siam carried the body parts in two suitcases and got in a car in front of a public toilet. Amanullah then returned to the flat. He and the others carried away the rest of the body parts in polythene bags the next day, Harunor said.
Amanullah, Jihad, and Siam transported the body parts in two suitcases, loading them into a car near a public toilet. Amanullah then returned to the flat. The following day, he along with others, moved the remaining body parts in polyethene bags.
Amanullah and Shilasti returned to Bangladesh on May 15, and Mustafiz on May 16. Following their return, Akhtaaruzzaman flew to Delhi with Vistara Airlines, paused for two hours, then continued to Kathmandu. It is speculated that he might have subsequently returned to the US.
Harunor added that this information was obtained from the arrested suspects and was shared with the Indian police, who gathered additional data.
MOTIVE UNCLEAR
Commissioner Harunor refrained from disclosing the motive for the murder pending the completion of their investigation.
When questioned about potential causes, such as a honey trap, the DMP DB chief indicated that all possibilities are being examined, ranging from personal entanglements to political conflicts and business disputes.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader earlier in the day refuted claims by Indian media that MP Anar’s murder was connected to his alleged gold smuggling activities.
"Did any journalist report these allegations when he was elected MP three times? Why raise these claims now? Especially when these are based on reports from the Indian media,” questioned Quader.
“If he were involved in criminal activities, wouldn’t your investigations have uncovered this earlier?” he added.
