West Bengal Police arrests butcher for murder of Bangladesh MP

The West Bengal's Criminal Investigation Department on Friday arrested a Bangladeshi national from Mumbai for allegedly murdering Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar.

The accused has been identified as 24-year-old Jihad Hawladar. He is said to be a resident of Barakpur in Bangladesh’s Khulna district. He was working as a butcher in Mumbai.

According to Indian Express newspaper, the killer confessed to the crime. The killer allegedly told the police that he, along with four other Bangladeshi nationals, honey-trapped the MP to an apartment, where they smothered Anar.

Citing circumstantial evidence, police said that the lawmaker was first strangled and then his body was cut into several pieces before being disposed off across Kolkata.

The killers then skinned the body, removed all the flesh, and minced it to make it impossible for identification.

The remains were then packed into plastic bags, with the bones cut into small pieces. These packets were transported and disposed of across Kolkata, the suspect allegedly told the police.

Hawladar has reportedly named a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin as the mastermind.

Police also said that the flat in Kolkata's New Town area, where the Bangladesh MP was last seen entering, was rented out to his friend by its owner, an excise department employee.

"Investigation indicated that the Bangladeshi parliamentarian fell into a honey trap laid by a woman who was also close to the victim's friend. It seems, Anar was lured into the New Town flat by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," he said.

The CID is examining the CCTV footage which showed Anar entering the flat with a man and a woman, 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 to execute the crime. Further investigation is underway," he said.

"In the CCTV footage, the politician was seen entering the flat with the two persons. The duo was later seen coming out and again re-entering the flat the next day but the MP was not seen again," the officer told PTI.

Police said the duo was later seen coming out of the flat with a big trolley suitcase.

Anar, who went missing in Kolkata on May 13, was found murdered and three people have been arrested, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Wednesday.

The state CID, which is investigating the case, has found blood stains inside the New Town flat and also recovered several plastic bags, which they believe were used to dump the body parts.

Also read | Bangladesh MP honey-trapped before murder by contract killers, says police; one detained