Bangladesh MP murder: Main suspect may have escaped to US, trying to trace him through Interpol, chief detective says

In a significant development in the sensational murder of a Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) chief Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid has said that the prime suspect identified as Akhtaruzzaman has probably escaped to the United States via Dubai from Kathmandu.

He said, "The main conspirator Akhtaruzzaman may have escaped from Kathmandu to the US via Dubai...We are trying to trace him through Interpol. We will go to the CID office. We will have a meeting with the officers of CID. We will try to interrogate the arrested accused so that we can get more information..."

The top official said that Bangladesh will seek help from Interpol to bring back the 'mastermind' of the brutal killing of Anar.

Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that Anar, who had gone missing in India, was found murdered in Kolkata on May 22, and three people have been arrested.

The police had said, "We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, segregated the flesh from the bones and mixed those with turmeric powder to delay decomposition."

"Then the body parts were probably put inside plastic bags as well as in the trolley bag and scattered at different locations. We also suspect that some parts were kept in a refrigerator, and we have collected samples," police added.

A Bangladesh police team had also arrived in India on Sunday afternoon, saying that they will seek cooperation from West Bengal CID and conduct a thorough investigation into the murder.

The team had expressed its desire to cross-examine the arrested suspects and visit Baranagar, where Anar resided, along with speaking to the landlord of the house where he stayed.

After landing in Kolkata, Rashid said, "We just landed here. You all know that in our criminal Act, there is a section called Extra Territorial Offence which means, that if an individual commits a crime outside Bangladesh, we, under this Extra Territorial Offence section, can investigate those crimes."

He also said, "The mastermind of this murder, the beneficiary and those who executed the plans, all are Bangladeshi. The murder plot was planned in Bangladesh. Now our main work is to take forward the investigation. We are here in India to visit the place where the crime was committed. We will check the CCTV footage. Kolkata Police and Bangladesh Police have shared various information between them."

The West Bengal CID officials had earlier claimed that an angle of gold smuggling could be a possible reason behind the killing of the MP.

The investigators claimed that an alleged rift over gold smuggling between Anar and his friend and his business partner, could be the cause of the crime.