After Bangladeshi Member of Parliament Anwarul Azim Anar was found dead in Kolkata, it has been revealed that he was murdered by Bangladeshi-US citizen Akhtaruzzaman alias Shaheen. As per West Bengal police, Azim and Akhtaruzzaman were allegedly involved in gold smuggling based out of Kolkata. Anar was found dead in Kolkata, West Bengal, on 13th May, after he arrived in the city for medical treatment. Though it is believed that the murder might have links to their gold smuggling operations, neither the Indian investigating agencies nor the Bangladeshi agencies have confirmed the alleged connection.
Reportedly, there were disputes between Azim and Akhtaruzzaman over business matters, and Akhtaruzzaman decided to kill Azim. He then hired a man named Amanullah to carry out the murder who then engaged two others named Mustafizur and Faisal in the plan.
Police said Amanullah is a former leader of Purbo Banglar Communist Party, and he was in prison for 20 years in two murder cases.
Akhtaruzzaman also hired two others named Jihad and Siam, and these two men reached India from Bangladesh without any passports. Akhtaruzzaman rented an apartment in Kolkata for the accommodation of the team much before the murder as part of their plan. Akhtaruzzaman was paying Rs 1 lakh per month for the rented accommodation in Kolkata. On 30th April, Akhtaruzzaman visited Kolkata with Amanullah.
Following the murder, the accused chopped the body into pieces and packed them into suitcases. They handed over the suitcases to one of their Indian contacts for disposal. As of now, Amanullah and his two associates Mustafizur and Faisal have been arrested in the matter. They have confessed to the murder during the interrogation.
Anwarul Azim Anar was found dead in a rented apartment. During interrogation, Amanullah claimed that he could not specify the exact location where the body was dumped as the task was fulfilled by multiple people involved in the crime. He added that the suitcases changed hands before their final disposal, making it unclear which suitcase ended up at which location.
Amanullah told the police in Bangladesh that he agreed to do the job for Tk 5 crore (around ₹3.5).
Amanullah returned to Dhaka on 15th May and his accomplices returned soon after. Reportedly, Amanullah was promised that he would get 5 crore takas for the assassination. Amanullah was arrested on Tuesday night by police in Bangladesh, and on the basis of information given by him, Faisal and Mostafizur were arrested.
Akhtaruzzaman’s brother Shahiduzzaman, who is he mayor of Kotchandpur Municipality in Bangladesh, said that Akhtaruzzaman visited Bangladesh during Ramzam. He added that his brother and Anwarul Azim Anar had a good relationship.
Harun Or Rashid, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said, “We are closely working with the Indian police. We are receiving a lot of information we cannot divulge now for the sake of investigation.”
Akhtaruzzaman came to India on an American passport, fled to Nepal
As per the information of the intelligence agencies, Akhtaruzzaman, the mastermind of the murder, has fled to Nepal and is currently hiding in Kathmandu. He travelled from Kolkata to Delhi and from there fled to Nepal.
Daily Star quoted Gopal Biswas, one of Anar’s friends, stating that police suspect Akhtaruzzaman to be behind the murder. Akhtaruzzaman hails from an influential family. Gopal asserted that Akhtaruzzaman entered Kolkata using an American passport and carried out the murder with the help of seven Bangladeshis who escaped after the murder. He holds dual citizenship of USA and Bangladesh.
Involvement of woman in the murder
Investigators checked the CCTV footage during the investigation, and they found that two men and a woman entered the house with MP Anwarul Azim Anar. Later, except for the MP, all three left the rented house. Kolkata police said a taxi driver was also involved in dumping the body and was apprehended by the police.
Murder of Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar
On 22nd May, the dead body of a Bangladeshi legislator named Anwarul Azim Anar, who had come to Kolkata for medical treatment, was found by the police. The development was confirmed eight days after he went missing. Anwarul Azim Anar was a member of the ruling Awami League party in Bangladesh and served as a Parliamentarian from the Jhenaidah-4 constituency. According to the Kolkata police, the killing of the Bangladeshi legislator was pre-meditated. His dismembered body was recovered from an apartment, belonging to an excise duty official, in Sanjeeva Garden in Kolkata’s New Town area.