KATHMANDU, June 5: An American citizen of Bangladeshi origin, who is accused of being involved in the murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar in India, has reached the United States of America (USA) using Nepal's airport while his Bangladeshi accomplice has been arrested in Nepal. According to the information provided by a high-ranking official of Nepal Police, Mohammad Akhtarzaman, who was also the business partner of MP Anar, traveled to the US via Nepal's airport after the murder of MP Anar, 56, in Kolkata a few weeks ago.
Although the exact date of MP Anar's murder remains unclear, the Kolkata Police discovered his body on May 22. Indian security officials speculate that Anar was killed before May 22. A high-ranking police source revealed that Akhtaruzzaman left Nepal for Dubai on May 21 and then traveled to the US from there.
Anar reached Kolkata on May 12, 2024 for treatment. The next day, he reportedly told his family that he was going to Delhi. Since then i.e. since May 13, he has been out of contact. Indian police are also investigating the case from the angle of a possible honey trap.
Bangladeshi intelligence officials suspect that MP Anar was involved in a gold smuggling operation with his American associate Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, smuggling gold from Dubai to India via Bangladesh.
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According to media reports, there was a dispute between Anar and Akhtarzaman over the share of the smuggled gold last year. This led to a rift in their partnership and the subsequent murder of Anar.
Bangladesh police suspect that other influential individuals may also be involved in MP Anar's murder. They plan to seek Interpol's assistance to arrest Akhtaruzzaman, who is now in the US.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Police have arrested Bangladeshi national Mohammad Siyam Hussain, 31, suspected of being involved in the murder of MP Anar. According to police sources, he is a permanent resident of Bhola, Bangladesh. Although Bengal police came to Nepal to pick him up, the Nepal Police said that he will be deported to India as he entered Nepal from there.
A four-member team headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Mohammad Harunor Rashid, chief of the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, arrived in Kathmandu. Hussain, accused of murdering Bangladesh MP Anar, was arrested last Thursday.
According to Indian news agencies, three Bangladeshis and one Indian have been arrested on the charge of murdering the Bangladeshi MP.
Jihad Hawaldar, who was arrested in India on the charge of murdering Anar, gave a statement to the Indian police that he dismembered the body of MP Anar and threw it away. According to the Press Trust of India, Bangladeshi police and detective branch officials went to Kolkata to investigate the incident. There, they interrogated Jihad Hawaldar.
Earlier on Saturday, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of India, quoting the arrested accused Jihad Hawaldar, said that the entire incident took place within 15 minutes of MP Anar's entry into his flat. Chloroform was used to render him unconscious, and after that he was suffocated with a pillow.
Hawaldar also admitted that Anar's body was dismembered with the help of a knife and a blade. According to the CID, the killer wrapped the body parts in a plastic bag and kept them in a suitcase before disposing of the body parts.
Hawaldar gave a statement that he killed MP Anar under the instructions of Mohammad Akhtarzaman. He stated that they had been smuggling gold from Dubai to India via Bangladesh. After a rift in their partnership, Akhtaruzzaman hired him as a contract killer to murder Anar.