MP Anar murder: DB detains Jhenaidah Awami League leader

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has detained Jhenaidah District Awami League General Secretary Saidul Karim Mintu on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Jhenaidah lawmaker Anwarul Azim Anar.

A DB team detained him from Dhanmondi area of ​​the capital around 4pm on Tuesday.

Later, he was taken to DB office at Minto Road. 

Jhenaidah District Awami League President Safiqul Islam Apu said: "I have heard about the detention of Awami League leader Mintu. Whoever is involved in MP Anar’s murder, we want exemplary punishment."

According to DB sources, they had received information about the indirect involvement of many political leaders of Jhenaidah in Anar’s murder. These suspected leaders will be detained and interrogated in stages.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) chief Md Harunor Rashid said that several political leaders in Jhenaidah are under surveillance in connection with the murder.

He said these things to the journalists at Minto Road in the capital on Tuesday afternoon.

The DMP chief said: “The investigation is ongoing to determine who the accused may have shared information with and whether anyone benefited financially from the incident. All aspects are being thoroughly investigated.”

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Anwarul Azim Anar, a lawmaker from the ruling Awami League, crossed the Darshana-Gede border into India for treatment on May 12. He stayed at his friend Gopal Biswas’s home in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal.

The following day, he left to see a doctor at around noon and was expected to return in the evening. However, a WhatsApp message from his phone to Biswas said that he had gone to Delhi instead and would call if necessary.

Since then, he could not be reached by phone. Eventually, the Bangladesh government confirmed his death on May 22, citing Indian police.