TDS Desk:

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Habibur Rahman says that, despite identifying the killers of MP Anwarul Azim, it is not yet clear why he was killed.

As US-Bangladeshi citizen Akhtaruzzaman Shaheen, who law enforcers believe is the mastermind of the murder, has yet to be arrested, police in Bangladesh and India have yet to confirm the motive, he said.

The DMP chief’s comments to the media came at the opening ceremony of the ‘Database and Analysis of Road Crash’ (DARC) software training organised at the DMP headquarters on Wednesday.

Habib said, “Those who were involved in the murder have already been identified. Some of them have been arrested. Recovering the body was a big deal. A team of ours has gone to Kolkata and their main objective was to find and identify the body. I learned from the Indian police that some meat was recovered from the septic tank of the house where the murder took place on Tuesday. We will know whether it belongs to our member of parliament Anwarul Azim will only be confirmed after a DNA test.”

When asked why the MP was killed, the DMP chief said, “Neither the police of Bangladesh nor the police of India have found the reason for the killing, also known as the motive for the murder. Because the main planner [Akhtaruzzaman Shaheen] has left the country, he could not be arrested. Only once he is arrested will we learn the motive for the murder.”

Bangladesh does not have a prisoner extradition agreement with the United States. In that case, asked what initiative the police were taking to bring the accused back to stand trial, Habibur said, “In that case, the police will do its utmost. Since he [Anar] was our member of parliament, his matter will be treated with the utmost importance. Although we do not have such a contract with them [America], every effort will be made through any other medium or diplomatic channel.”

Asked about how the trial would proceed, the DMP Commissioner said, “The trial can be done under the law of Bangladesh. It can also be done where the incident happened in India. The matter will be decided through mutual discussion.”