Bangladesh MP's murder in Kolkata: Body of Anwarul Azim Anar not found, 3 arrests made as mystery deepens
In the murder case of Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar, Kolkata Police's forensic team on Thursday collected samples from a car found at the crime scene. Anar, a ruling Awami League party member, had recently won his third consecutive term in the Jhenaidah border district.
FollowA Bangladesh MP who came to Kolkata earlier this month for medical treatment and then went missing has been murdered. At a news conference in Dhaka on Wednesday, Bangladesh's home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, said that three people had been taken into custody in Bangladesh in connection with the murder of Anwarul Azim Anar, 56, in Kolkata. But the MP's body hasn't been located yet.
Addressing the media, Khan said, "Azim was murdered in a planned manner in a house in Kolkata. Police forces of both India and Bangladesh are working simultaneously to unearth the motive behind the murder and who the culprits are. We are following all international protocols to get to the bottom of this." He added, "people of our country are involved in the killing".
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock at Azim's death and conveyed her condolences to the family.
Azim, a three-time Awami League MP who represented Jhenaidah-4 in Bangladesh's Khulna division, arrived in Kolkata on May 12 and stayed at the home of long-time acquaintance Gopal Biswas in Sinthi, north of Kolkata. According to Biswas, he departed the next day in a vehicle, claiming to be going for a medical checkup, but did not return.
Over the next two days, Biswas and Azim's daughter in Bangladesh received text messages from Azim stating that he was in Delhi for work. However, after they were unable to contact him over the following 48 hours, Biswas filed a missing case at the Baranagar Police Station on May 18.
The Barrackpore Police Commissionerate formed a special investigation team to trace the politician. A team of officials from Bidhannagar and Barrackpore Police Commissionerates, the STF and central agencies reached the New Town flat on Wednesday morning to conduct a search. They found blood stains but there was no body.
Media reports suggest that CCTV footage showed Anar entering the housing complex with two men and a woman on May 13 but he was not seen exiting. The two men and the women were seen exiting at different times between May 13 and 15 - two of them were seen leaving with big bags. Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG of state CID, confirmed that police were yet to recover the MP's body
