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Police say there is no proof of legal departure for the former ministers
Published : 02 Oct 2024, 07:36 PM
Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan has reportedly been spotted in a Kolkata park, but police have no evidence of his legal exit from Bangladesh.
“It can be confirmed that neither the former minister nor the others mentioned have legally left the country,” Additional Inspector General of Police (acting) Shah Alam told bdnews24.com on Wednesday.
Asaduzzaman, who has been named in several cases related to killings during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement in July and August, is one of several ministers and MPs from the former Awami League government whose whereabouts remain unknown.
According to a Bangladeshi private television station, Asaduzzaman, former Awami League leader and MP Ashim Kumar Ukil, along with his wife Apu Ukil and several others, were reportedly seen at Eco Park in West Bengal’s Kolkata.
The report has caused a considerable uproar on social media.
When asked for comment, IGP Alam said he had heard the reports as well.
“We have looked into the matter. If they had passed through immigration, we would have proof. In their cases, there is no proof,” he said.
Alam added that there is ‘no information’ regarding others who have left.
“Many have left illegally. Some are still in the country, and many have been arrested by law-enforcing agencies,” he said.
He also confirmed several people had legally left the country shortly after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
“On the 6th and 7th of August, a few people left. At the time, no restrictions were in place. Former police officer Abdul Kahar Akand is among those who legally departed.”
The issue of Asaduzzaman's presence in Kolkata was also raised during a Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, press conference in Karwan Bazar.
RAB spokesperson Lt Col Munim Ferdous said they have no information regarding the former home minister’s exit from the country.
