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Man living illegally in Mumbai held for chopping Bangladesh lawmaker’s body
Investigators cited Hawaldar’s questioning and said he told them that Md Anwarul Azim Anar’s body was first skinned and then cut into small pieces
A 24-year-old Bangladeshi man living illegally in Mumbai has been arrested for allegedly skinning and chopping the body of Bangladesh lawmaker Md Anwarul Azim Anar, who was reported missing on May 18 near Kolkata, an investigator said on Friday.
West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the man on the day a top Bangladeshi police officer said in Dhaka on Thursday that Anar was allegedly murdered in a flat and his body was mutilated in such a manner that it would be difficult to identify it as human flesh.
Investigators in West Bengal on Thursday said they found blood stains inside a refrigerator in the apartment where Anar was last spotted.
An Indian Police Service officer identified the 24-year-old accused as Jihad Hawaldar. “Hailing from Khulna in Bangladesh, Hawaldar was illegally staying in Mumbai. He was directly involved in the crime. The investigation is going on,” he said.
Investigators cited Hawaldar’s questioning and said he told them that Anar’s body was first skinned and then cut into small pieces. The pieces were put into plastic bags and placed in trolley bags before they were disposed of over the next few days.
“Anar was strangulated on May 13 within a few hours of entering a duplex at New Town [near Kolkata], which was taken on rent by his long-term friend and business partner Aktaruzzaman Shahin,” said the officer.
Bangladesh Police said Shahin, a Bangladeshi-born American Citizen, allegedly masterminded the murder before fleeing to Nepal. Falling out over business is believed to have been the reason behind the murder.
Anar, a three-time lawmaker of the ruling Awami League, arrived in West Bengal on May 12.
CCTV footage showed he was at New Town on the afternoon of May 13, and that there were at least three people, including a woman, with him. That was the last time he was seen alive. Anar never came out even as the people accompanying him were seen leaving the premises on different dates over the next few days.
“CCTV footage showed that Shahin also entered and left the high-end residential campus. He had taken the duplex on rent at over ₹1 lakh per month,” said an officer.
On Wednesday, authorities in both West Bengal and Bangladesh confirmed that Anar was murdered. Until Friday police were unable to trace his body parts.
Investigators said the murder was planned two to three months ago and that those involved held multiple meetings at Shahin’s houses in Gulshan and Basundhara areas in Dhaka.
