Bangladesh MP's body skinned, dismembered in rented Kolkata flat

Veteran Bangladeshi Awami League MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing in Kolkata on 17 May, was killed at a rented flat in the city's New Town suburbs and his body skinned, dismembered, and treated with turmeric, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

According to media reports, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police has arrested the prime suspect in this connection. On 22 May, the police also arrested three other people on suspicion of being involved in the crime, Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed in Dhaka.

West Bengal Police sources said Anar was last seen at the rented accommodation on Wednesday, and the accused was hired by the MP’s friend Akhtaruzzaman, a US citizen who also owned the rented accommodation where Anar was killed, News18 reported.

The arrested accused has been identified as Jihad Haoldar (24), a Bangladeshi national and a butcher by profession who works in Mumbai, the News18 report said. Under interrogation, Haoldar reportedly told police that he followed Akhtaruzzaman’s orders to carry out the gruesome killing, and that he and four other Bangladeshi nationals killed Anar inside the flat. No reason for the killing has as yet been officially provided.

Having gathered crucial evidence, a team of CID officials has reached Dhaka, an IANS report said. The police suspect that the MP could have been lured to the New Town flat by a woman, and then murdered by the contract killers.

"Our investigation indicates that the MP fell into a honey trap laid by a woman who was also close to the victim's friend. It seems Anar was lured to the New Town flat by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," an official said.

Circumstantial evidence indicates that the MP was first strangulated, and his body then cut into several pieces, a senior police officer claimed. "We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, separated the flesh from the bones, and smeared it with turmeric powder to delay decomposition.

"The body parts were then probably put inside plastic bags as well as in a trolley bag and scattered in different locations. We also suspect that some parts were kept in a refrigerator and we have collected samples," the officer said, adding that the search for the missing body parts is underway.

An initial probe also found that the MP's friend had paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime, the officer said. "It was a well-planned murder. A huge amount of money, around Rs 5 crore, was paid by an old friend of the MP to the contract killers," he said.

Messages were also sent from his mobile phone to a few of his contacts asking them not to contact him as he was travelling to Delhi. "It seems these messages were sent from the MP's mobile to confuse his family members and friends and prevent them from launching a search for him... there is a possibility that these messages were sent after his murder," he said.

The CID is examining CCTV footage showing Anar entering the flat with a man and a woman, the officer said. The search for the missing MP, who reportedly arrived in Kolkata on 12 May for medical treatment, began after Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata and an acquaintance of the politician, filed a complaint with the local police on 18 May.

Anar had stayed at Biswas's house upon arrival. In his complaint, Biswas stated that Anar left his Baranagar residence for a doctor's appointment on the afternoon of 13 May, saying he would be back for dinner.

Biswas claimed that the MP went incommunicado from 17 May, which prompted him to file a missing complaint a day later.

With PTI inputs