In nearly one year, the law enforcers have failed to identify or arrest the killers of Islamic preacher Maulana Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi while the detectives suspect that it was an act of members of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team.
Frustrated at the sluggish probe, family members of the victim say Faruqi was killed in a pre-planned manner. He had been issued death threats by some Islamists since long as he used to speak against religious fanaticism and superstitions.
Popular presenter of religious programmes on Channel i, Faruqi was slaughtered at his house in the capital’s Purbo Rajabazar area on August 27 last year by some unidentified armed assailants.
A day after the killing, Faruqi’s younger son Foysal Faruqi filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police against some unknown people.
Emran Hussain Tushar, the Dhaka city unit general secretary of Islami Chhatra Sena – student wing of Islamic Front Bangladesh, filed another case with a Dhaka court against six presenters of religious programmes in different private television channels, two of whom are involved with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Police were asked to probe the cases together.
Tushar alleged that Jamaat-Shibir extremists had tried to kill Faruqi in January, 2010 while Peace TV anchor Kazi Ibrahim threatened to kill him in Trishal of Mymensingh in 2012. At a meeting on August 22 last year, NTV’s Tarek Monawar, a Jamaat-e-Islami rokon, threatened to burn Faruqi down. The other accused supported Tarek’s speech.
Farqi was the international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat – an organisation better known for opposing the views of Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam; and a Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh.
Faruqi also served as the imam of Supreme Court mosque. He had different business including a hajj agency.
So far, the police have questioned three people including a woman for their alleged involvement in the killing. The woman, unknown to Faruqi, had visited the house only hours before the murder.
In November last year, DB officials arrested Mozaffor Bin Mohosin, 35, from Al-Amin Mosque compound in the capital’s Mohammadpur area. Mozaffor is quoted as saying: “Faruqi is working against Shariah and I want punishment for this person, for the sake of Allah, someone do something about this person.”
Footage of the speech was uploaded to several websites affiliated with militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, detectives said.
The Detective Branch of police since the beginning have been claiming that militant outfits, possibly Ansarullah Bangla Team, were behind the murder. They also said the same group might have killed the self-proclaimed pir of Lalbagh, Lutfor Rahman Faruk, and five others in December 2013.
DB Inspector Julhas Akand, investigation officer of the case, said they had a regular contact with the victim’s family. “We are trying our best to solve the murder mystery.”
Ahmed Reza Faruqi and Foysal Faruqi, sons of the Ahle Sunnat leader, expressed frustration over the investigation process. Foysal said: “It is nothing but a premeditated murder. He got threats a number of times before the killing on his mobile phone and Facebook.”
DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said they had found involvement of Ansarullah members in the murder. “But we are not confirmed who took part in the killing.
“Earlier we solved a number of cases with no clue. We are hopeful about solving this case too,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
