Akramul killing: Govt to examine audio clips, says home minister

The government has launched an investigation into the audio clips which are thought to be linked to the murder of Teknaf ward councillor Akramul Haque.

The audio clips are now being collected, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said at a programme in Dhaka this morning.

A magistrate is leading an investigation team which has already began its work, the minister told journalists.

Asaduzzaman Khan said the government does not welcome any killing, he said adding that measures have been taken to capture those (criminals) who are out of control.

The home minister was speaking at the launching of an awareness campaign against illegal drugs at Stamford University Bangladesh in capital's Siddeswari area.

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'Murder' it was

The university and Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) jointly organized the programme.   

Akramul Haque, a ward councillor of Teknaf municipality and local Awami League leader was killed in what Rab claimed was a “gunfight” between the elite force and drug peddlers in Cox's Bazar on May 27.

On Thursday, speaking at a press conference at Cox's Bazar Press Club, Akramul's wife Ayesha Begum alleged that her husband was murdered in cold blood. She also gave journalists four unverified audio clips of chilling conversations in support of her claim. In one of the clips, a female voice is heard continuously screaming over a mobile phone hearing gunshots during a phone call. Ayesha claimed that the female voice was hers and the gunshots were fired at her husband.

The Daily Star could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio clips.

Rab said councillor Akramul, who had been Teknaf upazila Jubo League president for 13 years, was a top-listed drug dealer. But his family members, relatives and people who knew him very well refuted the claim, and said he was never involved in yaba or narcotics trade.

Meanwhile, the alleged murder of Teknaf municipality councillor rang an ominous bell for the country's human rights situation, human rights defenders and activists said yesterday.

At least 131 people whom the law enforcers claimed to be drug traders were killed during the drive in over 18 days. More than 13,000 people have been arrested and convicted by mobile courts during the same period.