He came here – to pinch a macabre quote from Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime – to die.
Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar came to Kolkata on May 12 for medical treatment. He was staying with a friend, Gopal Biswas, till he went missing a few days later. He was last seen at a high-end apartment complex in New Town, on the outskirts of the Bengal capital, where he was likely murdered and his body skinned, chopped up, and pieces stuffed into plastic packets dumped across the city.
Who killed Mr Anar? Why? Where did he go on May 14? These are some of the questions police in Kolkata and Bangladesh’s Dhaka are racing to answer. Cops in the former city have made some progress on the first question; an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant, Jihad Hawladar, has been arrested and has confessed to his involvement in the murder of the MP and the dismemberment of the body.
And now Dhaka Police may have answered another question – how was Mr Anar lured to his death?
They are looking into the role of Shilasti Rahman, a woman who the cops believe was acquainted with one of his killers and ‘honey-trapped’ the Bangladesh MP, delivering him to his end.
READ | Was Bangladesh MP Honey-Trapped Before Kolkata ‘Murder’?
“The investigation indicates the MP fell into a ‘honey trap’. It seems he was lured by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat,” a Kolkata cop relayed info from Dhaka.
CCTV footage from the apartment had showed Mr Anar entering the flat with a woman.
Shilasti Rahman has been detained by Dhaka police.
Meanwhile, and however the investigation into Shilasti Rahman’s role may pan out, police in Kolkata made a big breakthrough Friday morning in arresting Jihad Hawladar, who has directed the cops to at least four other Bangladesh nationals who may have been involved in the gruesome murder.
That list includes Akhtaruzzaman, a United States citizen of Bangladeshi origin, who might be the mastermind and was known to Shilasti Rahman. He may have paid Rs 5 crore to Mr Anar’s killers.
Akhtaruzzaman’s location is unknown at this time; police believe he may be in the US.
The flat where Mr Anar was probably murdered and dismembered was rented to a friend of Akhtaruzzaman by the owner, who is a state government employee.
Shocking details have emerged of how the crime was planned and executed.
READ | Bangladesh MP Murdered, Skin Was Peeled, Body Chopped
Hawladar claimed his accomplices and he killer Mr Anar, skinned the body and removed the flesh, mincing it to remove any possibility of identification. The remains – the bones were cut into small pieces – were packed into plastic bags, transported and dumped across Kolkata, he claimed.
The cops also believe some body parts were stored in a refrigerator in the flat, presumably before they could also be dumped. CCTV footage shows one of the accused exiting the flat with a large suitcase.
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