Murder of MP Azim: A trip, mystery messages and questionable links
Trigger warning: This article includes descriptions of murder and death. Reader discretion is advised.
On 12 May, Anwarul Azim Anar, the Jhenaidah-4 MP, was contacted by his childhood friend and business associate, Akhaturuzzaman Shahin.
Shahin, a US citizen, wanted to settle a business dispute.
The location he picked for the meeting was India's Kolkata.
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Anwarul Azim immediately told his family that he had to go to India for a medical treatment.
Before daylight ended, Azim started for India, crossing into the country from the border at Darshana.
This is where the simplicity of the issue ended, according to police sources.
He would not return and days after, only pieces of his body would be found.
The police sources also suspect Azim may have fallen foul of a gold smuggling syndicate, a trade worth Tk100 crore per month.
And this is why Azim would pay a steep price.
While briefing reporters about Azim's death today (22 May), Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was asked about allegations against Azim of involvement in hundi, women trafficking, and gold smuggling.
In this regard, the IGP said, "Indian police are working on this matter as well as us. It is early to comment on this. Things will become clearer in due course."
In Kolkata, Azim would go to the house of one Gopal Biswas, a family friend for over 25 years, and stay the night.
When Azim did not return and could not be contacted for seven days, a worried Gopal filed a general diary with the local police.
In the meantime, in Bangladesh, Azim's daughter Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen went to the Detective Branch of Police.
The DB then contacted Indian intelligence officials through the Indian High Commission.
Strange demeanour, stranger messages
In the general diary Gopal filed with Baranagar Police Station on 18 May, he recounted the days leading up to Azim's disappearance.
He said Azim arrived at his house at around 7pm on 12 May, saying he had come to see a doctor.
At 1:45pm the next day, Azim left the house, saying he would return in the evening.
Azim then texted Gopal in the evening saying he was going to Delhi for an important task.
"I will call you once I reach. You don't need to call," he wrote.
On 15 May morning, Gopal got another WhatsApp message from Azim's number.
"I have reached Delhi. I have some VIPs with me, so no need to call," he wrote.
The same message was sent to Azim's family and his personal assistant.
On 16 May morning, his PA was called from Azim's number, but the PA could not receive it. Although the call was returned after a while, no one picked up.
Azim's daughter Doreen then called Gopal on 17 May, saying they could not reach her father. After searching as much as he could, Gopal finally went to file the GD.
Indian police then began to track Azim's phone location and discovered two of his phones were in two different areas. This immediately heightened suspicion.
Through investigating further, they came across a trolley-pusher who was called by a Bangladeshi number on Whatsapp.
The date of the call was 13 May.
This was the first clue police had. It was a Eureka moment.
The phone belonged to one Amanullah, a former member of outlawd ultra-left organisation Purba Banglar Communist Party which is active in the Southern region of Bangladesh, who had already served 20 years in two murder cases.
The plot had begun to thicken.
The confession
As news of the murder broke yesterday (21 May), police sprung into action.
During the course of investigation, they found Amanullah holed up in his sister's house in Dhaka's Mohammadpur.
He was immediately detained and taken into the custody of the Detective Branch.
During the interrogation, which is still continuing, Amanullah confessed to the murder and provided the gory details of how it took place.
Amanullah, who has known Shahin for years, confessed to the latter's involvement.
According to the statement Amanullah gave to police, it was Shahin who masterminded the whole murder.
He said it was Shahin who had asked him to go to India to carry out the macabre task for a hefty sum of Tk5 crore.
Amanullah said Shahin took two people with him – Jihad and Siam.
Both these men allegedly took part in the murder. They, however, did not have any valid identification or passport.
Amanlullah said he also took two people – Foisal and Shahjir. Both flew from Bangladesh on 11 May.
He said they all stayed at the Sanjeeva Gardens. The high-end housing had a biometric entry system, which showed the presence of all five at the apartment.
As for Amanullah's background, he graduated from Rajshahi University's Bangla Department.
He was found guilty of two murders and served time between 1991-1997 for the killing of one Gonesh in Jashore and between 2000-2013 for the murder of one Iman Ali in Jhenaidah.
In the Azim murder, Amanullah was yet to say if there was any monetary involvement.
Pieces of a murder
According to Amanullah's confession, Azim reached Sanjeeva Garden, a high-end luxury condominium in New Town, on 13 May.
Present at the same place were six people, including Amanullah, the alleged hitman, according to police sources.
At some point between 1:45pm-3:45pm, the six attacked Azim. He was hacked and his body was sliced into pieces.
"Azim's blood-soaked clothes were recovered from this apartment. The flat's owner has been identified as Sandeep Roy, an excise officer," said Akhilesh Chaturvedi, inspector general of the Criminal Investigation Department of Kolkata Police.
"The flat was rented by US citizen Akhatruzzaman Shahin," he added in a press conference today after inspecting the crime scene.
According to police sources, bleaching powder was used to clean the apartments. Afterwards, two trolleys were brought in. The trolleys took out the parts of the body and then discarded it in different places.
Two of Azim's mobile phones were sent to two different districts of India, in an apparent method to throw off the scent.
But it would all unravel soon.
What happened to Shahin
According to police, Shahin went to India on 30 April. He stayed in the country till 10 May.
He returned to Bangladesh by air.
On 18 May, Shahin flew to Nepal. On 22 May, he landed in Dubai, from where he is expected to fly to the US today.
Local police said they had contacted law enforcement in Dubai, but have been told that they can't legally do anything as Shahin is a citizen of the US.
Shahin could not be reached for comment.
However, Additional Deputy Commissioner of DB Shahidul Islam Ripon, who is involved in the investigation of Azim's murder, case, said, "We are maintaining contact with the Kolkata Police. With the joint efforts of both countries, we hope all those involved in the murder will be apprehended."
