Two years after the grisly murder of the former superintendent of police (SP) Babul Akter’s wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, police have concluded the investigation and the charge sheet is going to be submitted soon with Babul Akter as the plaintiff of the case.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of key suspect Kamrul Islam Musa alias Musa Sikdar remains unknown.
On June 5, 2016, Mitu was brutally stabbed and shot dead by a group of professional killers in front of her son near her house in Chittagong city’s GEC area in broad daylight.
Later, Babul Akter lodged a case accusing unidentified persons with the Panchlaish police station in the city.
The Investigation Officer (IO) of the sensational murder case, CMP’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Detective Branch) Mohammed Kamruzzaman hinted that the charge sheet was to be submitted within a very short time with Babul Akter as the plaintiff, and not as a suspect as he had erstwhile been.
Officials of the CMP further hinted that the charge sheet was going to have at least six suspects, with Kamrul Islam Musa alias Musa Sikdar being the prime accused.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, IO Mohammed Kamruzzaman said, “As you know, there is no timeframe for the case. We have investigated the case taking all issues into account. The role of Babul Akter in the case is only that of the plaintiff and a testifier.”
On the other hand, Mitu’s father Mosharraf Hossain said that he would not accept it if Babul Akter was dropped from the charge sheet.
“There is no scope to drop Babul Akter from the charge sheet. Babul lost his job and he could not rejoin as he is an accused,” said Mitu’s father.
“It is normal for the Investigation Officer to remain in constant contact with the victim’s family, but even though Kamruzzaman did so at first, he did not continue it,” alleged the victim’s father.
“A bodyguard and Babul’s son witnessed Mitu trying to commit suicide on several occasions. This clearly proves that Babul Akter had a hand in the crime,” claimed Mitu’s father.
“Now it is time to see how accurate the charge sheet is. If Babul Akter is involved with the murder, he will surely not testify against himself,” said Chittagong Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Fakhruddin Chowdhury.
Of the accused in the murder case, Nurul Islam Rashed and Nur Nabi were killed in “gunfights” with police in July 2016 in Chittagong, while the whereabouts of Musa and another accused Kalu are still unknown.
Declaring a bounty of Tk5 lakh for the whereabouts of the duo, the CMP issued a red alert against Musa and Kalu on June 29, 2016.
Although the police claimed Musa went into hiding, his wife Panna Akhter claimed that plainclothes police detained him and his brother Saku in the Bandar area of Chittagong on June 22, 2016.
Later on, Saku was shown as arrested in the case, but the police repeatedly denied the claims of Musa’s wife.
On December 27, 2016, Babul Akter, in the face of interrogation by investigators, reportedly confessed that Kamrul Islam Musa alias Musa Sikdar was his informant.
Immediately after the grisly murder, investigators said militants may have settled a score against Babul as he conducted several successful anti-terrorism drives. Later, they changed their stand, saying that it was professional killers, and that Musa had hired them and plotted the murder.
In a dramatic move on June 25 last year, Babul Akter was picked up from his father-in-law’s house in Dhaka and quizzed in police custody in connection with his wife’s murder. During the quizzing, it was rumored that Babul was arrested for his alleged connection with Mitu’s murder. However, then police official Babul was freed after 15 hours.
Amid intense speculation, Babul was relieved of his duty on September 6, 2016.
Though Babul’s father-in-law Mosharraf Hossain stood in favour of him then, he later changed his stance, asking the investigators to probe into any extramarital affairs Babul may have had in order to reveal the truth about the possible mastermind behind the crime.
However, Babul Akter brushed aside his father-in-law’s allegation in a Facebook post.
