Haris dropped from police wanted list

The name of Haris Ahmed, younger brother of army chief Gen Aziz Ahmed, has been removed from the list of "wanted person" in the police website following his application in March.   

Haris, who was awarded life term in a murder case, applied to the home ministry to remove his name from the police website, saying the government had pardoned him and his brother Anis Ahmed.

Touching off public debate, a documentary titled "All the Prime Minister's Men" aired by the Qatar-based television channel Al Jazeera on February 1 referred Haris as a fugitive convict.

Later, it surfaced that the home ministry issued a notification on March 28, 2019 over pardoning Haris and Anis under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

But his name along with his photo was still on the list of "wanted person" on the police website when the documentary was aired. 

Interestingly, the name was removed from the website soon after Al Jazeera broadcast the programme but it reappeared again three days later. It was there at least till May 15.

In his application dated March 23, where he used his Dhaka address, Haris claimed himself as an established businessman since the '90s and a "shining star of Bangabandhu's ideology in Awami League politics" since '80s-'90s.

This newspaper has obtained a copy of the application.

"I never engaged in any criminal activities. I became the main target of the then Freedom Party and Jamaat-BNP because of their jealousy. To destroy me, pro-BNP-Jamaat political parties wrongly accused me in different cases at different times," he wrote.

Haris claimed he along with two brothers -- Anis and Tofail Ahmed Joseph -- was falsely implicated in the murder of Mostafa, a Freedom Party leader, at the instigation of local ward commissioner Habibur Rahman Mizan (Pagla Mizan).

Haris further said his elder brother Aziz Ahmed also would have been framed had he not been serving in the Bangladesh Army.

His another brother Joseph, who had been sentenced to death, got the presidential clemency, maintaining all the legal procedures, read the application.

Claiming that he has no case against him, Harris appealed that his name be removed from the Bangladesh Police list of wanted person and Interpol red notice.

Interpol issued a red notice on Haris on October 25, 2005 and withdrew it in 2019 following a DMP police commissioner's request, according to a letter of National Central Bureau of Bangladesh Police, dated April 7, 2021.

The home ministry sent the application of Haris to the inspector general of police on March 29 this year, asking for removal of his name from the wanted list according to rules, provided that there is no case against him.

On April 13, in a letter to the Detective Branch, CTTC unit of DMP and all divisional deputy commissioners, DMP deputy commissioner (Crime) Ziaul Ahsan Talukdar wanted to know if there was any case against Haris.

The Daily Star has obtained a copy of the letter.  

Contacted, Ziaul Ahsan, also the in-charge of ICT division of DMP, asked this correspondent to contact the media team of police. He denied signing such a letter.

"We [ICT division] work on internet or router issues, not on websites," he added.

The Daily Star contacted the media and planning team of Police Headquarters several times since May 27 but couldn't get any comment.

Deputy Inspector General SM Ruhul Amin told this correspondent to send him questions in written on May 27 evening. A day after getting the questions, he said he was not related to this issue.

Assistant Inspector General Md Sohel Rana neither picked up the phone nor replied to text messages since May 27.

Earlier in February, when the name of Haris was on the wanted list, Sohel Rana told The Daily Star, "The wanted list is updated according to specific rules upon directives from the relevant authorities of the government. In the case of removing a name, there is scope for dropping any name from the list depending on directives from the authorities based on an application in accordance with the rules."

Asked about it on Wednesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal only said he couldn't say anything without seeing the files.

Haris was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in two cases by two different speedy trial tribunals -- one on May 25, 2004 over the murder of Mostafizur Rahman alias Mostafa and the other on March 3, 2004 for the murder of Dhaka University student Abu Morshed.

Haris didn't mention anything about Morshed murder case in his letter but the home ministry circular issued on March 28, 2019 read he was granted government pardon in both the cases.