Police arrest Khairul Islam, a key suspect in murder of ex-SP Babul's wife

Khairul, who had a Tk 500,000 bounty on his head, had allegedly stabbed Mahmuda Akter Mitu seven years ago

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has arrested Khairul Islam Kalu, a suspect in the murder of Mahmuda Akter Mitu, wife of former police superintendent Babul Akter.

He was handed over to Chattogram's Rangunia police following his arrest on Friday night, according to the station's chief Mahbub Milki.

Apart from his alleged involvement in Mitu's murder, Khairul was also a fugitive in a case related to an attack on Rangunia Police Station in 2012, which formed the basis of his arrest, he said.

After probing the homicide case, the PBI said in its charge-sheet that Mitu's husband, Babul, masterminded her killing. And, it was Khairul who committed the actual murder by stabbing Mitu, the agency claimed.

Khairul was arrested in the port city's Akbar Shah Police Station area, according to a PBI official.

“He [Khairul] had been on the run since Mitu's murder. He used to work as a watchman at a privately owned place in the Akbar Shah area.”

Mitu was hacked and shot dead near the GEC Intersection in Chattogram on the morning of Jun 5, 2016, as she was taking her son to school. It happened a few days after Babul had joined the police headquarters in Dhaka, following a promotion and transfer.

After the murder that stirred the nation, Babul returned to Chattogram and filed a murder case against unknown suspects. Later he started living with his in-laws in Dhaka, taking his two children along with him.

Later on Jun 24, Babul was summoned to the offices of the police's Detective Branch in Dhaka and interrogated for about 14 hours, sparking rumours of his involvement in his wife's murder.

After a series of dramatic events, Babul left the police force and started living in a separate house.

Two days after quizzing Babul, police announced the arrests of two more suspects, Md Anwar Hossain and Md Motaleb Mia alias Wasim. In a statement to a court, the police said Kamrul Islam Shikdar Musa was involved in the "planning" of the murder.

In his testimony to the court, Wasim said that he, Musa, Khairul and Nabi, were directly involved in the murder, with the latter duo stabbing Mitu.

Musa's whereabouts remain unknown. His wife, Panna Akhtar, held a press conference at the Chattogram Press Club on Jul 4, 2016. She claimed that on Jun 22, a police team led by then chief of Bandar Police Station, Mohiuddin Selim, arrested Musa at the home of an acquaintance in the Bandar area.

However, this claim was rejected by the police. Three months later on Oct 6, the then commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan, Iqbal Bahar, announced a Tk 500,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of Musa and Khairul.

The PBI submitted its final report on the case in May 2021, concluding that it had received information pointing to Babul's involvement in the murder. Mitu's father, Mosharraf Hossain, subsequently filed a fresh murder case against Babul.

On Apr 9, the trial of seven suspects, including Babul opened with the testimony of Mitu's father Musharraf.

The other suspects accused are Wasim, Anwar, Ehteshamul Haque Bhola, Shahjahan Mia, Musa and Khairul.