West Bengal police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives who are looking into the murder of Bangladesh MP Md Anwarul Azim Anar retrieved bones from the bank of a canal in North 24 Parganas on 9th June. The bones prima facie are suggested to be that of a human.
The bomes were discovered in Bhangar’s Krishnamati village on the southeast bank of the Bagjola canal after Muhammad Siyam Hussain (33), a crucial suspect in the case, was questioned on 8th June. He was apprehended by the Nepal Police and extradited to India. He was remanded to 14-day custody of the CID by a local court in Barasat in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas.
AK Chaturvedi, Inspector General of Police (IG), CID stated, “We have recovered some bones. Prima facie it appears to be human bones. We are sending them for forensic analysis. The bones appear to be that of the human rib cage and arms. The skull is yet to be recovered.”
An official mentioned, “If the forensic report confirms that they belong to humans, we will go for DNA analysis to ascertain that they belong to the murdered MP. For that, permission from the court is required. It is a long process.”
Another officer noted, “We have been searching this area for over two weeks based on the information provided by another accused Jihad Hawaldar, who was arrested on May 23. Hussain gave the specific location during interrogation.” According to CID officials, the location where the bones were uncovered at Polerhat in North 24 Parganas, on the side of a canal, is about fifteen kilometres from the New Town apartment where the MP was killed and his body was dismembered.
A senior official informed, “The bone parts appear to be of a human being as suggested by medical officers and forensic experts who were present when these were recovered. Search is underway to trace other body parts of the Bangladeshi politician.” Siyam Hussain, who has reportedly been instrumental in disposing of the MP’s body parts, was taken into custody by the CID on 7th June evening. According to officials, he guided the police to the location where the bones were found.
Investigation has revealed that Hussain and Jihad Hawaldar, an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh who lived in Mumbai, disposed of the body parts and murder weapons. Hawaldar, a skilled butcher deskinned 55-year-old Azim’s body after he was slain in the New Town apartment, separated the flesh from the bones and sliced the body parts. He and Hussain discarded the murder weapons and bones in a canal while the flesh was flushed in a commode. Some flesh was recovered from a sewage tank in the New Town apartment where the MP was killed and has been sent for forensic analysis to determine whether or not they belong to a human.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch and CID have together apprehended five people in the case. Hussain and Hawaldar were arrested by CID, while three people were caught by the Dhaka police. US citizen Aktaruzzaman Shaheen, the murder’s architect and the assassinated MP’s longtime business partner, is still at large. The CID claimed that he is in possession of a US passport and escaped to the country. He reportedly used local accomplices to assist him in killing Azim and then fled via Kathmandu, Nepal, to the United States. The crime took place in his rented flat in Kolkatta and he paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime. He had landed in Kolkata over two months ago.
The Awami League leader was first strangled to death and then had his body hacked into pieces, according to circumstantial evidence. The search for the missing lawmaker began on 18th May after Gopal Biswas, a friend of his and a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata, lodged a complaint with the local police. The MP landed in Kolkata on 12th May for medical treatment. Azim had arrived at Biswas’s house and was staying there. Azim was supposed to return for dinner on 13th May after leaving the house for a doctor’s visit in the afternoon, according to Biswas’ complaint. However, he registered a police report following the politician’s disappearance.
Anwarul Azim Anar was killed in a fancy apartment in the New Town neighbourhood outside of Kolkata. Hawaldar cut his body into pieces, mixed them with turmeric and dumped the body parts in various locations. The murder could have resulted from a disagreement between Azim and Akhtaruzzaman regarding gold smuggling, per the authorities. According to initial inquiries, Azim was tricked into giving out his location by Silasti Rahman, a model from Bangladesh who is believed to be a participant in the murder as well as an associate of one of his killers. The lady, who lives in the Khulna district of Bangladesh, is suspected of luring the MP to his demise before leaving with Amanullah Khan, another important accused. She has been nabbed by the Bangladesh police.
