Three arrested in Bangladesh over MP Anar’s killing in Kolkata: Home Minister

Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went to India to seek medical treatment, was killed at a home in Kolkata ‘in a pre-meditated way’, says Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.

Bangladeshi police arrested three people and are interrogating them after they were informed of the matter by Indian police, he said on Wednesday.

News of Anar’s death was reported by local media in India on Wednesday morning. The home minister then met with police officials over the matter at his personal residence in Dhanmondi.

After the meeting, he told the media at a meeting that, from the information they had received, it seemed that people in Bangladesh were involved in the murder. Three people have been arrested and more are being searched for.

“According to the information we have, Anwarul Azim was killed in a pre-planned way. From the information we received from Indian police, our police have detained three people who we suspect to have committed the murder or to be involved in it. They are being questioned and the investigation is ongoing.”

Anar is the president of the Kaliganj Upazila unit of the Awami League and won his third consecutive term as Jhenaidah-4 MP in January by running under the party ticket.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her condolences and deep grief at the death of the three-time Jhenaidah MP.

The MP had entered India by the Darshana-Gede border on May 11.

He had been staying with a friend named Gopal Biswas. Biswas had filed a general diary at the police station on May 18 after Anar went missing. The GD stated that he had left the house on the afternoon of May 13 and had not returned. But, a message from his WhatsApp number stated that he was going to Delhi.

Anar’s daughter Mumtarin Ferdous Dorin contacted the Detective Branch of Dhaka police, informing them her father had gone missing.

After several days of back-and-forth communication between the police of the neighbouring countries, news of Anar’s killing was published by Kolkata media outlets on Wednesday. The reports said his body was found in a multi-storey apartment block called Sanjiva Garden in the city’s New Town area.

Anar’s friend Gopal told bdnews24.com that the investigating officer of the GD, Suvendu Goswami, had called him and informed him that the body had been recovered.

But Home Minister Khan said that the MP’s body had yet to be found, but his murder had been confirmed.

“Due to the investigation, we won’t say much at this time. We don’t have the body yet. We are investigating based on the information we have received.”

Anar’s constituency has problems with criminals, the home minister said.

“Anwarul Azim was once again elected the MP of that constituency. He went there [Kolkata] for treatment and this incident occurred. Our police are investigating the matter. I will soon be able to inform you about the motive of the killing. Indian police are giving us all kinds of support.”

The Bangladeshi police are working together with their Indian counterparts according to international law, he said.

“After the investigation is complete, we will inform you why he was killed, who killed him, and how.”

Asked whether the MP’s killing would lead to a divide between the two neighbouring countries, the home minister said, “Since the incident, India has been cooperating with us on all fronts. As such, there is no reason for a divide. This is because the killers are Bangladeshis and no Indians are involved.”