Anwarul Azim Anar, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Bangladesh, who had been missing in India from May 18, was found murdered in West Bengal's Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Anwarul Azim Anar was a lawmaker from the ruling party Awami League. He was representing Jhenaidah-4 constituency in Bangladesh.
Anwarul Azim entered India on May 12 on a personal visit to receive treatment. According to reports, he was last seen on the afternoon of May 13 when he went with friends to a home in Bidhannagar near Kolkata for a medical check-up.
Also Read: Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim 'murdered' in Kolkata after going missing for days, 3 arrested
The MP mentioned he would be travelling to Delhi, but there has been no physical presence or direct contact with him since May 13, reported PTI quoting family friend Gopal Viswas in Kolkata's Bidhannagar.
His mobile messages exchanged with his family in Dhaka and his friend in Bidhannagar, indicated his intended journey to Delhi.
According to the complaint dated May 18, 2024, PTI reported that on the morning of May 16, he (Anwarul Azim) called his assistant, but could not connect. Later, when his PA called him back, he did not answer.
The complaint was filed at the Baranagar police station in Bidhannagar, by the MP's family friend, Gopal Viswas, after the MP's daughter informed her inability to contact her father.
Bangaldesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday announced that Anwarul Azim Anar, was found murdered in Kolkata.
“Awami League MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing in India, was murdered at a Kolkata flat. So far, we have come to know that all the killers involved are Bangladeshis. It was a planned murder,” reported PTI quoting Khan.
However, when asked about the whereabouts of the body, he said that they were yet to know about it.
Asaduzzaman Khan said that he will soon inform about the motive and added that Indian police are cooperating with the case.
An SIT was formed to start an investigation and in the meantime, West Bengal Govt got a letter from MEA to investigate this case. Today, we got an input that he has been murdered. We are trying our level best to solve this case. CID is investigating this matter, reported ANI quoting Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, CID IG.
“We had no prior intimation of the Bangladeshi MP’s arrival to this city. We came to know about him after his acquaintance in Kolkata, Gopal Biswas, filed a missing diary on May 18. We were in the middle of that investigation when, on May 20, we received an intimation from the Ministry of External Affairs and today an input that makes us suspect that the victim may have been murdered,” PTI quoted Chaturvedi as saying.
Azim's family members are also set to arrive in Kolkata for further formalities, and their visa process is underway.
According to ANI, Bangladesh's Press Minister Shaban Mahmood, at the embassy in Delhi said, "As our Home Minister has announced, so I definitely believe that this has happened...But we still don't have any authentic information from the Government of India. So, we will have to wait. But we apprehend that he may have been killed or assassinated because our Home Minister has already announced it. There might be several reasons behind it. But we don't have any clear information. He was a very frequent traveller to Kolkata and had good relations with the people in Kolkata. He has a very close friend - Gopal Vishwas. Maybe, he came here for treatment or business purposes or any other issue. We don't know. His daughter is trying to come to Kolkata today."
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