Bangla MP murder case: Anwarul Azim Anar killers got 600 g plastic, trolley bags, machete to dump body

KOLKATA: Hundreds of plastic bags, weighing 600 gm, toilet tissue roles, wet and dry tissue papers, gloves and a boarding pass of a flight that had the name of Celesty Rahman on it were recovered from the New Town flat where Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar was murdered on May 13. Police also recovered a comb with some strands of hair.

According to Jihad Hawladar (24), arrested by CID in Bengal for the murder, the crime was committed within 15 minutes of Azim reaching the building after being picked up from his associate’s residence in Sinthee.Chloroform was used to ensure he fell unconscious following which he was smothered to death with a pillow, police said. Jihad then went on to work with a butcher’s knife and blades to chop the body, he told police. “The killers had meticulously planned for the body’s disposal. For this, they had bought plastic bags, trolley bags, a machete and bleaching powder,” said a CID officer.The special investigation team from Baranagar police station, which was formed in India following alerts about Azim being missing, had reached the New Town flat on Monday. After a search, they had found Celesty’s boarding pass and left.

This boarding pass had raised suspicion and in the meantime, the Bangladesh govt sent out a message that Azim had been murdered. Police returned to the New Town complex and an extensive search led to the discovery of blood stains near a footwear and a faint blood stain in the drawing room. The forensics team started their investigation on Wednesday morning, and by 11.15 am, police were certain the murder had been committed there.

A four-member team from police and security wings of India arrived in Bangladesh went to the detective branch (DB) office on Minto Road in Dhaka and interrogated the three individuals arrested so far in this case in Bangladesh.

The suspects were questioned in the office of Mohammad Shahidur Rahman, additional deputy commissioner of the detective branch’s Wari division. “We are exchanging information with Bangladesh security agencies,” said an officer at Bhawani Bhawan.

Mumtarin Ferdoush Dorin, daughter of Jhenaidah-4 lawmaker Azim, said in Dhaka on Friday that the motive for the murder could only be determined once the culprits were arrested, according to reports in Bangladesh media. “I hope justice will be delivered for this cruel and brutal act. I seek your cooperation,” she said on Friday. “I have communicated with everyone, including the High Commission in Delhi. Many high-ranking officials have contacted me. They are actively looking into the matter and trying to find leads. Initial findings are often kept hidden for the sake of the investigation. Later, they reveal the findings. So, let them do their work,” she added.