It was the murder most foul. And the dismembered body parts thrown in several places are yet to be found although the police of both India and Bangladesh found out the details of gruesome murder of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar who himself was hard core criminal –involved in murders, drugs, arms and gold smugglings. Both the countries’ news outlets are now coming out with details of Anwarul Azim Anar’s criminal activities and quoting several police and intelligence sources reconstructed the cold blooded pre planned murder. It has been reported that the MP was killed over dispute over illegal Gold smuggling. Murdred MP Anwarul Azim Anar once in 2008 also faced Interpol hunt when fled to India and hid in West Bengal.
It is said that the MP was murdered at the instruction of close friend and business partner in illegal trades Bangladeshi-US citizen named Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, locally known as Shaheen. They both are suspected to have been running gold smuggling chain in Kolkata as well as Bangladesh. Shaheen’s residence is reported to be 379 East Seventh Street in Brooklyn, New York. 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, he left Nepal for Dubai. On May 22, he went from Dubai to the United States, newspapers reported.
Shaheen hired Amanullah Aman for the murder. Amanullah Aman who was once a leader of Purbo Banglar Communist Party. He was in prison for 20 years in two murder cases who in turn hired two others named Mustafizur and Faisal for the job. They came to Kolkata on the bloody assignment. Shaheen also hired two others named Jihad and Siam, who also came to India without any passports, for the same purpose. It was Amanullah Aman who planned the entire murder operation. Shaheen also happens to be brother of the mayor of Kotchandpur Municipality in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh.
It was said that Shaheen gave the killers Taka 5 crore for the task.
Bangladesh newspapers reported that Anwarul Azim Anar once controlled extremist groups in southern and western Bangladesh.
He was listed in police records for involvement in arms and explosives smuggling. Despite this, he evaded law enforcement and became known as a godfather of terrorists and extremists.
Mefia outlets quoting activists in Jhenaidah- Anwarul Azim Anar’s constituency, said that he allegedly entered the drug trade around 1986, during the Jatiya Party’s rule. They claimed he smuggled goods through the Bagda border of India to the Baghadanga border of Bangladesh. During this period, his forces made monthly contracts, or “tokens”, with various police stations.
These tokens allowed drug-carrying vehicles to pass unchallenged, earning him the title of the “Drug King” of the Southwest.
Anar amassed significant wealth through the drug trade. In 1991, he allegedly began smuggling gold with Paritosh Tagore, a fellow smuggler from Jhenaidah. They transported large gold consignments through the Baghadanga border.
In 1996, Anwarul Azim Anar joined the Awami League from the BNP.
Later, he expanded his operations to include arms smuggling, partnering with a Kaliganj municipality commissioner.
His illegal arms were sold to extremist cadre Samsil, also known as Robin. Even after going into hiding in India, Anwarul Azim Anar continued arms smuggling with government-recognized top terrorist Prakash.
In 2007, the then border guard force, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) seized 12.95kgs of gold in Chuadanga.
The gold smugglers later learned that one Saiful Islam, a C&F businessman, revealed the information to law enforcers. Saiful was later murdered.
Anar and others were implicated in this gold smuggling syndicate and were accused of murdering Saiful. In 2009, a special court in Chuadanga issued a public notice for Anar’s arrest.
In 2012, Anwarul Azim Anar and some others were relieved from the case. By 2014, when he was elected MP, he had been acquitted of most charges.
Dhaka newspapers quoting police said, 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.
Three people, including Purbo Banglar Communist Party leader Amanulla Aman, have been arrested over the murder so far.
According to those involved in the investigation, Aktaruzzaman Shaheen planned to kill the MP in response to a business conflict.
On April 30, Shaheen went to Kolkata with killer Amanulla Aman and one of his girlfriends, Sylista Rahman. They relocated to a pre-rented duplex flat in Sanjeeva 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 Amanulla 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.
According to murder planner Amanulla 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 travelled to Kolkata via the Darshana border of Chuadanga. The first day, he stayed at his friend Gopal Biswas’ house. The killer summoned him to the flat in New Town on the following day, May 13.
In the afternoon, MP Anwarul Azim Anar entered the apartment in Sanjeeva Garden. Amanulla 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, Amanulla Aman told Shaheen about the matter.
According to the information given by Amanulla 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 Amanulla Aman’s confession and CCTV footage, it was found that he 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.
Amanulla Aman said that another bag with body parts was in the house. The bad smell also started emanating from that 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, according to Amanulla Aman’s instructions, two of his associates took the two mobile phones used by MP Anwarul Azim and went in two directions so that the investigators or the law enforcement agencies were confused about the MP’s location.
Amanulla Aman said that Shaheen wanted to pay Tk5 crore for the murder. He was paid some money before the murder. The rest of the money was supposed to be paid after the murder. After the success of their 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.
Intelligence officials said that Amanulla Aman was hiding at his sister’s house in Mohammadpur after coming to Dhaka. He was arrested from there.
Officials said that behind the brutal killing of MP Anwarul Azim, is a dispute over the sharing of gold smuggling money. Aktaruzzaman Shaheen himself is a gold smuggler. MP Anwarul Azim is also accused of gold smuggling.
(Courtesy: Inputs taken from The Daily Star, The Dhaka Tribune and other Bangladeshi and Indian newspapers, media outlets)
