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Published : 16 Mar 2023, 09:29 PM
Police say Shakib Al Hasan was well aware Arav Khan’s actual name is Rabiul Islam, and that he was a fugitive suspect in the murder of an inspector.
Still, the cricketer travelled to Dubai to join the inauguration of Arav Jewellers, his business.
Shakib was among several celebrities who were invited to the opening of the jewellery shop, and the law enforcers informed all of them about the charges against Arav, said Harunor Rashid, an additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch.
The others included filmmaker Debashish Biswas, actress Prarthana Fardin Dighi and social media star Ashraful Alom aka Hero Alom.
“I have no idea why they went to the inauguration even after being informed [about the charges against Arav]. It’s unfortunate,” said Harun.
Shakib did not respond to http://bdnews24.com’s calls and messages for comments.
Arav’s sudden rise to become the owner of a luxury jewellery shop in the United Arab Emirates from a fugitive murder suspect from a village in Gopalganj raised eyebrows in Bangladesh.
Many also wonder how he managed to invite and gather so many celebrities at the opening of his shop.
Asked if Shakib invested in Arav’s shop, Harun said police were gathering information about why the celebrities joined the event.
“We’ll communicate with them if necessary for the investigation. We’re investigating if Arav Khan got the funds from someone else.”
Arav is known as Sohag Molla in his native village in Gopalganj’s Kotalipara. In Dhaka, he used the aliases Rabiul, Apon and Hridoy.
He married around 20 times and faced several cases filed by his wives, according to locals.
Md Zakaria, chief of Kotalipara Police Station, said they received arrest warrants against Sohag alias Rabiul in nine cases over the torture of women, rape, murder, theft and mugging.
Harun said Arav has arrest warrants against him in 12 cases, including the murder of Mamun Imran Khan, an inspector of the police’s Special Branch.
Mamun was found dead at Kaliganj in Gazipur in July 2018. The murderers burnt the body to conceal evidence.
Several suspects were arrested as investigations revealed the involvement of Sohag and his gang in the murder.
Police said Mamun went to a house in Banani with a friend to attend a birthday party, but Arav’s gang confined him there and tried to blackmail him. The perpetrators threatened to take obscene photos of him with girls. He was killed as he resisted the attempt.
Arav alias Rabiul, 30, at the time, is among the 10 suspects charged in court in 2019. The others include his wife Suraya Akter Keya, 21, and Mamun’s friend Rahman Ullah, 35.
A man identifying himself as Rabiul had surrendered to court, but police later found he was
not the actual suspect. Arav aka Rabiul fled Bangladesh to India by that time.
Harun said police were tracking Arav’s activities and recently saw him on the Facebook pages of Shakib and other celebrities.
“We’ll bring him back through the Interpol after talking to our high-ups.”
ARAV DENIES MURDER CHARGES
In a video posted on Facebook on Thursday, Arav denied the charges of murdering inspector Mamun.
Identifying himself as “Apon”, he said the murder did occur at his real estate office in Banani, but he was not involved in it.
His employees informed him that a policeman died in an “accident” at the office of Apon Builders during an altercation, Arav said.
He, however, admitted to helping his employees hide the body and conceal evidence.
He claimed he had travelled to Bangladesh and would return if he got assurance of a proper trial.
Arav alleged his rivals in Dubai’s gold market “spread rumours” about him after he offered big discounts.
“Many tried to do many things. Thanks to Shakib Al Hasan Bhai for coming even after hearing these. He didn’t back off. No one backed off. So many artists came here. I’m very proud.”
He denied reports that a top police officer who retired recently had helped him flee and rise as a businessman.
“My father was a day labourer who toiled hard. I worked at a hotel in Dhaka and tried to do something big. People of Gopalganj who now hold big positions always helped me because they love me.”
