An Old Friend Is Mastermind Behind MP Anwarul's Killing Mission

Anwarul Azim, a three-times Member of Parliament of Jhenaidah-4 Constituency in India, was murdered in a planned manner. He was not only murdered; The miscreants dismembered his body also. On 12 May, Anwarul Azim Anar, the Jhenaidah-4 MP, was contacted by his childhood friend and business associate, Akhaturuzzaman Shahin. The main planner of MP Azim's murder is his childhood friend and business partner. The murder was committed in Shaheen's full circle. It is reported also that hired killers participated in the killing mission with a contract of 5 crore taka.

On Wednesday, the law enforcers revealed that he was brutally murdered in India, where he went on a medical visa on May 12.

The Wari division of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has uncovered the murder mystery of the murder, according to sources related to the investigation. They said three people, including Purbo Banglar Communist Party leader Aman, have been arrested over the murder so far.

MP Anar's daughter, Mumtarin Ferdoush Dorin, filed a case at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station over the death on Wednesday. At the same time, preparations are underway to file a separate case in Kolkata, where the police arrested a car driver for carrying the body parts.

Police say Anar’s childhood friend and business partner, Aktaruzzaman Shaheen, was the main planner of the murder. Amanullah Aman, a friend of the MP and listed extremist leader, was responsible for the planning and execution of the murder.

Meanwhile Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan made the sensational disclosure Wednesday (May 22, 2024) that Anwarul Azim Anar, MP for Jhenidah-4, had been murdered in West Bengal, while on a medical trip to India. He said the slain MP’s remains had been found in a flat in New Town, Kolkata.

“Awami League MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing in India, was murdered at a Calcutta flat,” Khan told journalists. “So far, we have come to know that all the killers involved are Bangladeshis. It was a planned murder.”

Meanwhile DB Chief and Additional Commissioner of DMP Harunor Rashid told reporters at his office that it was a brutal murder. “We are investigating whether it is a family feud, a financial quarrel, or whether it took place because of taking action over a crime in any area. We are closely working with the Indian Police on the matter,” he added.

He also said: “A member of parliament was brutally killed by some Bangladeshi criminals. We have brought some of them under the law. We will also bring the rest under the law.

On the other hand Police in Kolkata however have said no body has been found, and they are continuing their search in this regard. All that has been found are blood stains in a flat in suburban New Town where Azim was seen entering with three others on May 13.

Plan To Murder 

According to those involved in the investigation, Aktaruzzaman Shaheen planned to kill the MP in response to a business conflict. Shaheen is a Jhenaidah resident and US citizen. His brother is the mayor of Kotchandpur Municipality in Jhenaidah.

On April 30, Shaheen went to Kolkata with Aman and one of his girlfriends, Sylista Rahman. They relocated to a pre-rented duplex flat in Sanjiba Garden, New Town, Kolkata. Shaheen's two associates, Siam and Jihad, were already staying in Kolkata. Together, they planned the murder.

Shaheen returned to the country on May 10, resting full responsibility for the murder on Aman. As planned, Aman took two more hitmen from Bangladesh to Kolkata. Faisal Shaji and Mostafiz went to Kolkata on May 11 and joined Aman.

Earlier Anar entered India through the Darshana border (connecting Bangladesh’s Khulna with Nadia) on May 12 for a medical consultation, and started staying with a friend, Gopal Biswas, a gold trader, in the Baranagar area.

On the other hand Shaheen came to Bangladesh after finalizing the murder plan in Kolkata. Later, six people, including Aman, killed MP Anar by suffocating him with a pillow. Later, they cut the body into pieces and dumped it in a trolley bag at an unknown location.

Shahin, a US citizen, wanted to settle a business dispute. 

The location he picked for the meeting was India's Kolkata.

Around 1.40pm on May 13, Azim left Biswas’s house to meet a neurologist at a Kolkata hospital in a cab. According to The Telegraph, an influential Kolkata daily, the taxi driver who drove 

CCTV footage has revealed that apart from Azim, two men and a woman had entered the flat at Sanjeeva Gardens, an upmarket development in Rajarhat.

Over the next four days, CCTV footage shows the other three leaving the building at different times, but there is no further sighting of the MP.

Anwarul Azim immediately told his family that he had to go to India for a medical treatment. 

The police sources also suspect Azim may have fallen foul of a gold smuggling syndicate, a trade worth Tk100 crore per month. 

And this is why Azim would pay a steep price. 

While briefing reporters about Azim's death today (22 May), Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was asked about allegations against Azim of involvement in hundi, women trafficking, and gold smuggling. 

In this regard, the IGP said, "Indian police are working on this matter as well as us. It is early to comment on this. Things will become clearer in due course."

How Anwarul Azim Got Killed?

According to Aman's information, the intelligence officers said Shaheen already knew that MP Anwarul would go to Kolkata on May 12. He asks Aman to make all the preparations for the killing. They also collected multiple machetes for the murder.

On May 12, MP Anwarul traveled to Kolkata via the Darshana border of Chuadanga. The first day, he stayed at his friend Gopal's house. The killer summoned him to the flat in New Town on the following day, May 13.

In the afternoon, MP Anwarul entered the apartment in Sanjeeva Garden. Aman, along with his accomplices Faisal, Mustafiz, Siam, and Jihad, held the MP hostage. Meanwhile, they also asked the MP to pay the money he owed to Shaheen. At one stage, they suffocated Anwarul with a pillow and killed him. After the murder, Aman told Shaheen about the matter.

Mutilated Body

According to the information given by Aman, the intelligence officers said that the MP’s body was cut into pieces as suggested by Shaheen so that they could be hidden somewhere. Then two big trolley bags and polythene were brought from the shopping mall close to the flat. The body parts were wrapped in polythene bags and packed in trolleys. 

On the night of the incident, two trolley bags containing the body parts were kept in the house. In between, they brought bleaching powder from outside and cleaned the blood stains in the house.

Sources said that the Kolkata Police collected all the CCTV footage of the flat and the surrounding buildings. Analysis of the footages show Aman and his associates carrying the trolley bags and taking the shoes kept outside by MP Anwarul inside the house. Apart from this, there is a scene in the CCTV footage of Shaheen's girlfriend bringing polythene bags and bleaching powder from outside.

Sources further said that after analyzing Aman's confession and CCTV footage, it was found that Aman left the house with a trolley bag in his hand the day after the murder. He told the police that he left the house and handed over the trolley bag to Siam in front of a nearby shopping mall. Siam took the bag and left for an unknown destination in a rented car.

However, the driver told the Kolkata police that Siam got out of the car with the bag after going some distance.

Aman said that another bag with body parts was in the house. The bad smell also started emanating from that trolley bag. He came to Dhaka with Sylista on May 15, instructing his associates to throw the bag with the body parts elsewhere.

After the murder, as per order of Aman, two of his associates took the two mobile phones used by MP Anwarul and went in two directions so that the investigators or the law enforcement agencies were confused about the MP's location.

Later, on May 17, Mustafiz and Faisal returned to Bangladesh.

Taka 5 Crore Killing Contract

Aman said that Aktaruzzaman Shaheen wanted to pay Tk5 crore for the murder. He was paid some money as advance before the murder. The rest of the money was supposed to be paid after the murder. After the successful mission Aman came to Dhaka, tasking Siam and Jihad to hide the pieces of Anar's body. Later, he met Shaheen. However, Shaheen did not give any answer as to how much money was given to him later.

Sources said that Aman tried to avoid many topics during the initial interrogation. He will be remanded and questioned further. 

Intelligence officials said that Aman was hiding at his sister's house in Mohammadpur after coming to Dhaka. He was arrested from there.

Shaheen Fled To USA

According to sources it is stated that Aktaruzzaman Shaheen came to Dhaka on May 10 after planning the murder. When the issue of MP Anwarul Azim's disappearance became a topic of discussion in the country, he again went to Nepal via India on May 18. On May 21, and then left Nepal for Dubai. On May 22, he went from Dubai to the United States.

Shaheen's address in the United States is said to be 379 East Seventh Street in Brooklyn, New York.

Stranger Messages

In the general diary Gopal filed with Baranagar Police Station on 18 May, he recounted the days leading up to Azim's disappearance.

He said Azim arrived at his house at around 7pm on 12 May, saying he had come to see a doctor. 

At 1:45pm the next day, Azim left the house, saying he would return in the evening.  Azim then texted Gopal in the evening saying he was going to Delhi for an important task. 

"I will call you once I reach. You don't need to call," he wrote.  On 15 May morning, Gopal got another WhatsApp message from Azim's number. 

"I have reached Delhi. I have some VIPs with me, so no need to call," he wrote. 

The same message was sent to Azim's family and his personal assistant. On 16 May morning, his PA was called from Azim's number, but the PA could not receive it. Although the call was returned after a while, no one picked up. 

Azim's daughter Doreen then called Gopal on 17 May, saying they could not reach her father. After searching as much as he could, Gopal finally went to file the GD.  Indian police then began to track Azim's phone location and discovered two of his phones were in two different areas. This immediately heightened suspicion. 

Through investigating further, they came across a trolley-pusher who was called by a Bangladeshi number on Whatsapp. 

The date of the call was 13 May. 

This was the first clue police had. It was a Eureka moment.  The phone belonged to one Amanullah,  a former member of outlawd ultra-left organisation Purba Banglar Communist Party which is active in the Southern region of Bangladesh, who had already served 20 years in two murder cases.

The Confession

As news of the murder broke yesterday (21 May), police sprung into action. During the course of investigation, they found Amanullah holed up in his sister's house in Dhaka's Mohammadpur. 

He was immediately detained and taken into the custody of the Detective Branch.  During the interrogation, which is still continuing, Amanullah confessed to the murder and provided the gory details of how it took place. 

Amanullah, who has known Shahin for years, confessed to the latter's involvement.

According to the statement Amanullah gave to police, it was Shahin who masterminded the whole murder. He said it was Shahin who had asked him to go to India to carry out the macabre task for a hefty sum of Tk5 crore. 

Amanullah said Shahin took two people with him – Jihad and Siam. Both these men allegedly took part in the murder. They, however, did not have any valid identification or passport. 

Amanlullah said he also took two people – Foisal and Shahjir. Both flew from Bangladesh on 11 May. He said they all stayed at the Sanjeeva Gardens. The high-end housing had a biometric entry system, which showed the presence of all five at the apartment.  

As for Amanullah's background, he graduated from Rajshahi University's Bangla Department. 

He was found guilty of two murders and served time between 1991-1997 for the killing of one Gonesh in Jashore and between 2000-2013 for the murder of one Iman Ali in Jhenaidah.

In the Azim murder, Amanullah was yet to say if there was any monetary involvement. 

West Bengal Police Statement 

West Bengal Police stated that the “reliable inputs” that Anwar “may have been murdered”, Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, West Bengal Police, said that they were yet to recover the victim’s body, as of Wednesday evening.

“We had no prior intimation of the Bangladeshi MP’s arrival to this city. We came to know about him after his acquaintance in Kolkata, Gopal Biswas, filed a missing diary on May 18. A Special Investigation Team was formed by the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate to trace the missing politician.

“We were in the middle of that investigation when, on May 20, we received an intimation from the Ministry of External Affairs and today an input that makes us suspect that the victim may have been murdered,” Chaturvedi said.

The IG confirmed that the apartment was owned by Sanjib Ghosh, an employee of the state excise department, who, in turn, had rented it out to one Akhtaruzzaman, a US national.

Additionally, police sources told the Deccan Herald, another influential Indian daily, that Anar was accompanied by two men and a woman when he checked into the New Town apartment. CCTV footage showed that the unidentified men and woman left the residential complex in phases between May 15 and May 17, and at least two of the three later returned to Bangladesh.

Arrests In Bangladesh

The killers of Anwarul Azim Anar were Bangladeshis, according to the Chief of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, backing up an earlier assertion by the home minister.

"An investigation is underway to ascertain the reason behind the murder. A few persons were arrested and others who were involved in the murder will be brought to justice. But the names can't be disclosed now for the sake of the investigation," the DB chief said while talking to reporters at his office today (22 May).

The home minister had also revealed the number of persons arrested was three. The arrests were reportedly made from Wari in the capital. There is no confirmation on whether any of them were part of the trio that accompanied the MP to New Town, and later slipped back inside Bangladesh.

Conflict With Gold Smuggling Money 

Officials said that there was a dispute behind the brutal killing of MP Anwarul Azim, over the sharing of gold smuggling money. It is revealed that Aktaruzzaman Shaheen himself is a gold smuggler and on the other hand MP Anwarul Azim is also accused of gold smuggling.