Joint investigation launched into Bangladesh MP killing

NEW DELHI: A joint investigation has been launched into th alleged killing of Bangladesh ruling Member of Parliament (MP), Anwarul Azim who was found dead in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Azim's family members are also set to arrive in Kolkata for further formalities, and their visa process is underway.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Press Minister Shaban Mahmud at the embassy in Delhi said, "India is our old and trusted friendly country, and we are expecting more details from Indian authorities."

Azim, who allegedly went missing on May 18, was found dead in Kolkata.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in a news conference in Dhaka said that the MP was killed in Kolkata. Speaking to reporters at his residence on Wednesday, the minister said that Bangladesh Police have arrested three persons in this connection, reported Bangladesh Newspaper Daily Star.

"So far, we have come to know that all the killers involved are Bangladeshis. It was a planned murder," the Bangladesh Home Minister said. 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.

Anwarul Azim, the Bangladesh MP, who entered India on May 12 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.

According to a family friend in Kolkata's Bidhannagar, the MP mentioned he would be travelling to Delhi, but there has been no physical presence or direct contact with him since May 13. Only mobile messages have been exchanged with his family in Dhaka and his friend in Bidhannagar, indicating his intended journey to Delhi.

Concerned by the lack of communication and his sudden alleged disappearance, the MP's family friend, Gopal Viswas, who was informed by the MP's daughter of her inability to contact her father, lodged a missing person complaint at the Baranagar police station in Bidhannagar. Kolkata.

"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," according to the complaint dated May 18, 2024.

"His daughter called me (Viswas), and said, I can't communicate with my father. Then I (Viswas) contacted all his (Anarul Azim's) acquaintances on the phone, but it was not possible to contact him," it added.

"I was then requested to come to Baranagar police station on May 18 to register the complaint in the missing diary," a copy of the complaint said.

Azim was the Awami League lawmaker from the Jhenaidah-4 constituency. Further updates on the circumstances surrounding the MP's death in Kolkata are anticipated as the situation unfolds.