While the West Bengal Police has still not confirmed that the Bangladesh MP missing in Kolkata has been killed, they have launched a probe saying it is "most likely" a murder and are probing an apartment in New Town where blood stains were found with a chopped body being recovered from the same area of Kolkata. The body is yet to be identified.
The murky case of the disappearance of an MP of Bangladesh in West Bengal's Kolkata has hit headlines, with the state police now saying that he lawmaker has "most likely been murdered", adding that the initial probe has revealed that one of his friends had paid around Rs 5 crore for the killing.
Anwarul Azim Anar had come to Kolkata on May 12 for medical treatment. The search for him began six days later after Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata and an acquaintance of the Bangladeshi politician, filed a complaint with the local police on May 18.
Anar had stayed at Biswas’s house upon arrival in Kolkata.
A Chopped Body Found: As the Bangladesh MP's disappearance caught attention and headlines on Wednesday, a report said that police recovered a chopped body in the New Town area of Kolkata, suspecting it to be of the lawmaker. Later in the day, the Bangladesh government declared that Awami League MP Md Anwarul Azim Anwar was “brutally murdered” in Kolkata, adding that it was confirmed to them by the West Bengal Police to them.
Bangladesh Govt's Claim: Hours after the Bangladesh government declaration on Wednesday, the West Bengal police also said that investigations into the case of the politician’s killing has been taken up by the state CID. Stating that the police had “reliable inputs” that Anwar “may have been murdered”, Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, said that the police were yet to recover the victim’s body.
New Town Apartment: The West Bengal Police has found blood stains in the apartment of a luxury condominium in New Town in Kolkata's outskirts where the MP’s whereabouts were last traced on May 13, Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, said on Wednesday, adding that their forensic team is examining the suspected crime scene.
Bengal Police On New Town Apartment Link: The IG confirmed that the apartment was owned by Sanjib Ghosh, an employee of the state excise department, who, in turn, had rented it out to one Akhtaruzzaman, a US national, but refused to divulge further details of the ongoing investigation. “We are doing our best to solve this case,” Chaturvedi said.
MP 'Murdered In Planned Manner'? Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday told reporters in Dhaka that "Anwar was murdered in a planned manner at a residence in Kolkata." Police forces of both India and Bangladesh are working simultaneously to unearth the motive behind the murder and who the culprits are, he claimed. "We are following all international protocols to get to the bottom of this,” Asaduzzaman Khan said.
Rs 5 Crore Paid For Killing? On Thursday, a senior police officer said the initial probe into what he called was the “murder” of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar revealed that one of his friends had paid around Rs 5 crore to kill the neighbouring country’s parliamentarian. “It was a well-planned murder. A huge amount of money, around Rs 5 crore was paid by an old friend of the MP to kill him,” the officer told news agency PTI.
CCTV From New Town Apartment: Anwarul Azim Anar, police sources said, was accompanied by two men and a woman when he checked into the New Town apartment. While CCTV footage showed that the unidentified men and woman left the residential complex in phases between May 15 and May 17, the MP could not be traced. At least two of the three people accompanying the victim later returned to Bangladesh, police said.
Apartment Searched: A team of officials from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate arrived on Wednesday morning at the designated apartment in New Town and conducted investigations inside.
3 Held In Bangladesh: The Bangladeshi establishment, meanwhile, confirmed that they have arrested three individuals from the Wari area of Dhaka in connection with the case. The Bangladesh home minister on Wednesday said that "all the killers involved are Bangladeshis".