Kolkata: Missing Bangladesh MP Dead? Minister Says He's Been Murdered, WB Police Yet To Confirm | What We Know

 Anwarul Azim Anar came to Kolkata on May 12 for medical treatment and was staying at his friend’s place in Baranagar on the northern fringes of the city. On May 13, he went to meet someone but didn’t return.

Outlook,  22 May 2024 :  An MP of Bangladesh, Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing on May 13 in West Bengal's Kolkata has been found dead, the country's home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, even though the Bengal Police is yet to confirm the same.

The MP, belonging to Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League, has been missing since May 13, an officer said.

“He came to Kolkata on May 12 for medical treatment and was staying at his friend’s place in Baranagar on the northern fringes of the city. On May 13, he went to meet someone but didn’t return. His friend later lodged a police complaint,” news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

West Bengal Police was suspecting that a chopped body recovered in the Newtown area if Kolkata might be of Anwarul Azim Anar. However, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Wednesday that he was murdered at a flat in Kolkata.

“Awami League MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing in India, was murdered at a Kolkata flat,” Khan told reporters. “So far, we have come to know that all the killers involved are Bangladeshis. It was a planned murder,” The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi daily cited Asaduzzaman Khan said.

Earlier, the Bengal Police had said that even though Anar had been missing for the last eight days, messages were sent from his phone to family members that he had left for New Delhi.

The police suspect that he has been murdered and that his body has been dumped in Kolkata's Newtown area, an NDTV report had said. During search operations, they also recovered a chopped body in Newtown, the report said, adding that the body is yet to be identified.

Anwarul Azim Anar's family also sought Bangladesh Prime Minisyer Sheikh Hasina, the above-mentioned report said, adding that her office informed diplomats in Delhi and Kolkata.

Bangladesh Home Minister's Claim

The Bangladesh home minister said that "all the killers involved are Bangladeshis" and country's police has arrested three persons in connection with the murder of the 56-year-old lawmaker, The Daily Star reported.

Asked about the whereabouts of the body, he said that they were yet to know about it. “We will soon inform you about the motive," the minister said, adding that Indian police are cooperating with the case.

A general diary report about the MP's disappearance was filed at Baranagar Police Station in North Kolkata on May 18, the report said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Azim, the portal said quoting the United News of Bangladesh news agency.

Azim was the AL lawmaker from the Jhenaidah-4 constituency.

“Jhenaidah is a bordering area known for its high crime rate. Azim was the local lawmaker there. The incident took place after went to India for treatment. According to what we currently know, he was killed there,” the home minister said.

after he arrived in the city for medical treatment on May 12, a senior official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata said.

(With PTI inputs)