Bangladesh MP's gruesome murder in Kolkata: What we know so far

The 56-year-old MP went missing a day later after his arrival in Kolkata on May 12. After the missing complaint was filed on May 18, police revealed that he had been murdered and his body had not been retrieved.

What was Anar doing in Kolkata?

The Bangladeshi MP had come to India for medical treatment on May 12 and was last seen on May 13 afternoon entering a rented flat in New Town area in Kolkata with two friends.

After the MP's daughter tried to contact him but could not, Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar and Anar’s acquaintance, filed a missing person complaint.

In his complaint at the Baranagar police station, Biswas said that Anar left his residence on May 13 for a doctor’s appointment, saying he would return for dinner. He also received some WhatsApp messages from Anar’s phone saying that he was travelling to Delhi for urgent work and should not be contacted.

However, Anar went incommunicado from May 17, after which the missing complaint was filed. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed and the Bengal CID started investigating the case after the Ministry of External affairs wrote to the West Bengal government to probe the case.

How the MP was lured into the flat

In the latest development in the case, more details have emerged about how the MP was killed in a gruesome fashion.

An illegal immigrant from Mumbai was detained by the West Bengal CID on Thursday evening for his alleged involvement in the Bangladeshi MP’s “murder. The illegal immigrant, Jihad Hawladar, a Bangladeshi national who is a butcher by profession, has allegedly confessed to how the MP was murdered.

PTI said that the 24-year-old was last seen at a rented apartment in New Town in Kolkata. The Bangladeshi MP was last seen entering the flat with a couple.

Police suspect that the MP could have fallen into a 'honey trap'.

PTI quoted an official as saying that investigation showed that the Bangladeshi parliamentarian fell into a honey trap laid by a woman who was also close to the victim’s friend. Anar was lured into the New Town flat by the woman and he was murdered soon after by the contract killers hired to kill him, said the report.

“In the CCTV footage, the politician was seen entering the flat with the two persons. The duo was later seen coming out and again re-entering the flat the next day but the MP was not seen again,” the officer told PTI.

How the MP was killed

Reports also said that during interrogation, Hawaldar confessed that he and four other Bangladeshi nationals killed Anwarul Azim Anar at the flat by strangling him on the orders of a US national with Bangladeshi origins.

They allegedly “deskinned his entire body in the flat, removed all the flesh and minced the flesh to destroy the identity”. Then, they packed everything in a polybag, cut the bones into small pieces and packed them as well. The accused then allegedly disposed off the packets at different locations within the Kolkata area.

Circumstantial evidence indicated that the MP was first strangulated, and then his body was cut into several pieces, police claimed.

“We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, segregated the flesh from the bones and mixed those with turmeric powder to delay decomposition," said the senior police officer.

The accused will be produced at the Barasat court today, where police will seek his remand to verify his statement and recover the missing body parts.

So, who is Bangladeshi MP Anar?

Anar, a member of Parliament in Bangladesh from the ruling Awami League, represented the Jhenaidah-4 constituency and was first elected to Parliament on January 5, 2014.

He was re-elected to Parliament in 2018. Jhenaidah, which is situated on the India-Bangladesh border, is infamous for its high crime rate.

Anar allegedly had several criminal cases against him, including for possession of arms and explosives. In 2008, Interpol issued a notice against Anar. However, he was cleared of most of his charges after he became an MP in 2014.

Before the general election in January, the lawmaker himself acknowledged to the Election Commission that he had had 21 cases filed against him. In his affidavit to the EC, he said he was discharged from seven cases and acquitted in the remaining 14.

According to media reports appearing in Bangladesh, the cases against him were related to smuggling, weapons, and extortion, among others.

What initial investigations have revealed 

Initial investigations have revealed that the MP’s close friend, a US citizen, had allegedly paid around ₹5 crore to those involved in the crime. 

Police also said that the flat in Kolkata’s New Town area, where the Bangladesh MP was last seen entering, was rented out to his 'friend' by its owner, an excise department employee.

According to news reports quoting police sources, it was "a well-planned murder".  The police said on Thursday that a huge amount of money, around ₹5 crore, was paid by an old friend of the MP to the contract killers to execute the crime.

Further investigations are on. During the investigation, CID found blood stains inside the New Town flat and also recovered several plastic bags, which they believe were used to dump the body parts.

Bangladesh’s response to the murder

Announcing that the MP was killed in a "planned murder" in Kolkata, Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that they had arrested three persons in connection with the case.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed her condolences and profound grief over Anar's death.