MP Azim Murder: The kingpins may never be tracked down

Some members of a gold smuggling racket were likely behind the killing of Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar, but the assailants had contact with Aktaruzzaman only, said an officer of West Bengal CID.

Political leaders, business owners, and others might have been behind it, but it will be difficult to identify them unless Aktaruzzaman, known in his hometown Jhenaidah as Shaheen Mia, is caught, the officer told The Daily Star.

Investigators fear that the gold smugglers may remain untouched because none of the arrested know who they are.

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MP Azim Murder: DB recreates crime scene in Kolkata

"The investigation is now almost stuck…," said the officer.

Looking for clues, investigators from both Bangladesh and India are making profiles and analysing the activities of Azim's political rivals in Jhenaidah, Jashore, and different areas in the region, sources said.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal CID yesterday recovered human remains, including a few strands of hair, from the septic tank of a Kolkata flat, believed to be the place where Azim was killed, reports our correspondent in New Delhi, citing sources in the department.

Matching the DNA of the hair with DNA samples taken from Azim's relatives will be the easiest and most effective way to determine whether the remains are of Azim, said the sources.

An officer of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said that West Bengal CID broke open the commode, sewer pipe, and septic tank of the flat at DMP detectives' request and found the remains.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told The Daily Star that he was aware of the developments.

Investigators said some of the arrestees told officers that they flushed some of the remains down the toilet after dismembering the body.

Harun Or Rashid, additional commissioner (DB) of DMP, who is currently in Kolkata, said, "We do not think the trial will be very difficult. Three accused are in Bangladesh and one is in India. We are analysing the evidence."

Azim, who according to law enforcers, ran a gold smuggling racket with Aktaruzzaman went to Kolkata on May 12 and stayed the night at his friend Gopal Biswas's house. He left the next day, saying he had a doctor's appointment.

Gopal later received a couple of texts from Azim's phone, saying there was no need to call him. On May 22, India and Bangladesh police said Azim was murdered at a flat in New Town, Kolkata.

Meanwhile, Jihad Howlader, who was arrested in India, told interrogators from DMP DB and West Bengal CID that he walked out of the flat wearing Azim's shirt, because his outfit got smeared in blood when he dismembered the body.

Investigators said Tanvir Bhuyan, who is on remand in Dhaka, is the nephew of Amanullah, the one in charge of the killing mission.

An Indian CID officer said when Azim walked into the flat, Tanvir put chloroform on his face to make him unconscious. "As Azim started screaming and throwing his arms and legs, Amanullah, Tanvir, Faisal, Siam, and Jihad carried him to a bed. Amanullah told Tanvir to press a pillow against Azim's face. Tanvir did as he was told."

Of the suspects, Siam Hossain is believed to be hiding somewhere in Nepal while the investigators are yet to know where Faisal might be.

The woman named Celesty Rahman, arrested in Dhaka, was not present at the flat and she didn't know about the murder, said an Indian officer.

When she came to the flat, she saw four perfume bottles and an air freshener and asked the others why there was a foul smell, said the officer.

The men told her they used bleach to clean the flat after one of them had a little too much to drink and threw up, the source said.

Azim's shoes were in front of the flat for one hour until the assailants removed them after 4:00pm, according to CCTV footage.

The killers found around Rs 4.30 lakh in the lawmaker's pocket, and Jihad took around Rs 1.80 lakh rupees from it.

DB officers last night arrested Saiful Alam, an associate of Amanullah, in Chachara area of Jashore with 960 grams of explosive substance.

Saiful is an accused in another murder case and he had been hiding in India for a year, said Rupon Kumar Sarkar, officer-in-charge of the DB in Jashore.

He added that Saiful may have something to do with MP Azim murder as he and his associate Amanullah were in India at the time.

[Our New Delhi Correspondent contributed to the report.]