Businessman key suspect in MP’s Kolkata murder: Bangladesh govt

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said businessman Akhtaruzzaman Shahin, who is believed to be in the US, is the key suspect in the murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar. The ministry is collaborating with India and the US to apprehend and prosecute him.

Speaking exclusively to PTI from Dhaka on Saturday May 25), Khan said, "Of course, we are looking for Akhtaruzzaman Shahin. He is a key suspect and wanted. We have sought help from Indian, Nepal and US law enforcement agencies to put him on trial."

Interpol roped in

"We are working on a system to bring Shahin back...We are in touch with all the agencies concerned, including the Interpol, to ensure justice to our parliamentarian’s family. We have already arrested three persons including a woman. Two of them have criminal backgrounds and we are checking the antecedents of the woman," he said.

#WATCH | South 24 Parganas: The divers of DMG (Disaster Management Group), West Bengal police carry out the search operation in the murder case of Bangladeshi MP Md. Anwarul Azim Anar. pic.twitter.com/0q17AT8kgD

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2024

Asked about the motive behind the murder, the home minister said, "We will reveal it soon." Repeated attempts to contact Shahin in the US went in vain, but his brother Md Shahiduzzaman, mayor of Kotchandpur municipality in Bangladesh's Jhenaidah, demanded stern action against his brother if found guilty.

Should be punished: Brother

Speaking to news agency PTI from Jhenaidah, Shahiduzzaman said, "We grew up together and it is hard to believe that he is involved in such a heinous crime. If he is at all indulged in the crime, he should be punished."

He said, "I spoke to him two weeks ago over phone and he sounded happy...I believe he is in the US now." Shahiduzzaman, however, claimed that he had no knowledge of his brother's business dealings or his relationship with the murdered MP.

"All I know is that my brother is very rich...But I have no clue about his business," he said.

India plans Shahin's extradition

Meanwhile, a senior police officer in West Bengal said, "Bangladesh does not have any extradition treaty with the US government but India has. We are planning to extradite Shahin to India because the crime occurred in our state." Shahin, a close friend and reportedly a business partner of Anar, is believed to be in New York City, where he holds US citizenship.

Anar, a three-time parliamentarian from Jhenaidah-4, was the president of Awami League's Kaliganj sub-district unit.

On May 11, he went to West Bengal to undergo treatment and went missing from Kolkata on May 13.

Brutal murder

According to investigators, Shahin lured the parliamentarian to a posh residential complex in Kolkata's New Town area through Bangladeshi model Celesty Rahman and was murdered there.

On April 30, Shahin travelled to India and returned to Bangladesh on May 10. On May 18, he flew to Nepal and then reportedly to Dubai and presently he is believed to be in New York City, they said.

Four held so far

West Bengal CID sources said Anar was first strangulated after which his body was chopped into pieces by a Bangladeshi butcher (identified as Jihad Hawladar). Later, Jihad along with two others dumped the pieces of the flesh at different areas in South 24-Parganas district. His body parts are yet to be found.

So far, four persons — three from Bangladesh and one from Bongaon in West Bengal — have been arrested in this case.

(With agency inputs)