Help us hunt down Mujibur killers: India to Dhaka

India has told Bangladesh that it would need something more than two photographs taken more than three decades ago to start the hunt for the two assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founder of Bangladesh.

India has told Bangladesh that it would need something more than two photographs taken more than three decades ago to start the hunt for the two assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founder of Bangladesh.

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Bangladesh believes two of the six absconders who killed former president Mujibur Rehman in a coup in 1975 - former army captain Abdul Majed and former Risaldar Moslehuddin – are in India. Five other conspirators were executed in January 2010 after a protracted trial.

The home ministry had earlier initiated the process to constitute special units within the intelligence bureau to search for the two. But police and intelligence officers convinced the government that they needed something more.

Dhaka then sent two faded pictures to New Delhi ahead of the home secretary level talks held earlier this month. But officers - who spoke on conditions of anonymity – insist they weren't good enough and wouldn't help.

"The photographs seem to be three decades old and wouldn't bear any resemblance to the absconders," an officer said, pointing intelligence officers had insisted on a starting point for any "meaningful probe".

Bangladesh believes the two came to India around the same time that Sheikh Hasina returned to power as prime minister in January 2009.

"It could be some information about the initial locations where they stayed… some contact points… anything," an intelligence officer said.

Government officials said they recognised how close this case was to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's heart and wanted to go an extra mile to bring the absconders to justice. Already, intelligence officials have been able to track down about half-a-dozen "criminals" who Bangladesh wanted to be sent back from India.

"We will create as many teams as are necessary and deploy resources for the two killers once the required information comes," a government official said.