Four Years of Mitu Murder: Case handed to PBI after ‘frustrating’ investigation

Mahmuda Khanam Mitu. File photo

The case filed in connection with the gruesome murder of Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, wife of former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter, has been handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) from Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), after three years of investigation.  

The case was silently transferred following a court order. However, the reason behind the transfer has not been disclosed.

CMP officials said they had almost wrapped up the investigation, but the victim's father was supposedly frustrated over CMP's handling of the case.

Even the family did not know about the transfer.

Yesterday marked four years since the brutal murder took place, in broad daylight.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, CMP Commissioner Md Mahabubor Rahman said, "We had almost completed our investigation, but the case was handed over a few months ago following a court order."

"We had gathered several findings during our investigation, but now, PBI knows the case's last status," the commissioner added.

He, however, refused to disclose the findings when asked.

Contacted, PBI Chattogram Metro Unit Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Moin Uddin said, "We received the case documents shortly before the pandemic started, in February. We will find vital information through analysing the documents and will conduct investigation in our own way."

"As the case is new to us, we will further interrogate the witnesses and plaintiff Babul Akter," the ADC added.

Earlier, Mohammed Kamruzzaman, ADC (prosecution) of CMP and immediate past investigation officer of the case, said Mitu was murdered due to personal vendetta but did not mention who was behind the incident.

Even after three years of investigation, officials have failed to identify whereabouts of the prime accused, police informant Kamrul Islam Musa alias Musa Sikdar, who reportedly led the mission to kill Mitu in front of her child.

Kamrul was an informant of Babul, who admitted this during his confession on December 27, 2017 at the CMP headquarters.

Talking to the newspaper, Mitu's father Mosharraf Hossain said, "We came to learn through newspaper reporters that the case was handed over to PBI recently."

"We are frustrated as police didn't inform us about the transfer. We've provided information to them earlier, but there was no progress. PBI chief Banaj Kumar Majumdar knows the case's history, and we think we'll will see progress through his fair investigation."

Mitu's father pointed his finger to Babul for his daughter's murder, as he did earlier.

Babul could not be contacted after repeated attempts, as his phone was switched off and social media accounts were deactivated.

On June 5, 2016, Mitu was stabbed and shot dead when she was walking her son to his school bus stop at port city's GEC intersection. After the murder, Babul filed a case against three unidentified men with Panchlaish Police Station.

Investigators so far arrested five persons -- Motaleb Mia Wasim, Anwar Hossain, Ehteshamul Haque alias Bhola, Md Shahjahan and Saidul Sikder Shakur (Musa's elder brother).

Wasim and Anwar have given confessional statements before a court, implicating seven persons, including Musa, who, according to the two, directly took part in the killing.

Of the accused, Nurul Islam Rashed and Nur Nabi, whose names were mentioned by Anwar and Wasim, were killed in "gunfights" with police in July, 2016 in Chattogram, while Musa and another accused, Kalu, are still "on the run".

CMP issued a red alert for the two, with a bounty of Tk 5 lakh on Musa, on June 29, 2016.

Apart from them, two others -- Md Shazaman alias Robin and Abu Nasar Gunnu -- had been arrested in connection with the killing, but their involvement could not be substantiated.

Bhola, who reportedly supplied firearm for the murder, recently walked out of jail, after securing bail from the High Court in December, 2019.

Although police said Musa is on the run, his wife Panna Akhter claimed that plainclothes police detained him and his brother Shakur in port city's Bandar area on June 22, 2016. But later, only Shakur was shown arrested in the case. Police brushed aside the allegation, saying they only managed to catch Shakur.

On June 25, Babul was picked up and interrogated in police custody for 15 hours. He was relieved of his job on September 6 that year. He now works at a private company.