The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is not under any external pressure after arresting Saidul Karim Mintu, general secretary of Jhenaidah Awami League and one of the masterminds behind the murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar.
The statement was made by DMP’s Detective Branch (DB) chief Additional Commissioner Mohammad Harunor Rashid at the DB headquarters on Sunday.
He said that the DB is actively working on MP Anar’s murder case. “One of our teams went to Nepal and according to information, Siam was arrested there. Apart from that, we gathered a lot of information regarding the incident after visiting Kolkata.”
Asked why the DB sent Saidul Karim Mintu to jail before his remand period ended, Harun said: "No law was violated here. When the investigating officer interrogates someone, a lot depends on his satisfaction. If the investigating officer thinks that there is nothing more to know from the accused, then he can send the accused to jail through the court.”
He said four of the accused in the case gave confessional statements before the court.
“If we felt any pressure, we would not have been able to accomplish as much as we did. The home minister has repeatedly said that there is no external pressure in this case. He has instructed us to investigate the case impartially. No innocent person will be harassed,” Harunor Rashid added.
Asked whether there is any progress in bringing back Akhtaruzzaman Shaheen, the mastermind of MP Anar murder, living in the United States, the DB chief said: “Since India has an extradition treaty with the US, I have asked the Indian police to bring him back from the US.”
In a report submitted to the court on Sunday, it was mentioned that Saidul Karim Mintu, general secretary of Jhenaidah Awami League and one of the masterminds behind the murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar had promised payment after the job was completed.
On June 19, the investigating officer and Senior Assistant Commissioner of the Detective Branch of Police, Md Mahfuzur Rahman, presented Mintu to the court after an eight-day remand, following which the court sent him to jail.
The report also said that on June 5, Amanulla alias Shimul Bhuiyan, the coordinator of the murder mission, confessed in front of a magistrate that Mintu was involved in the financial transactions related to Anar's abduction and murder in India in May.
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.