Bangladesh

AL MP Azim ‘traceless in India for three days’

Says family
MP Azim murder
File photo of MP Anwarul Azim Anar

Awami League lawmaker Anwarul Azim Anar of Jhenaidah-4 constituency has been "missing in India" for three days.

The three-time MP and president of Kaliganj upazila unit AL went to India on May 12 to receive medical treatment, Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen, daughter of the 56 year old, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We last had contact with my father three days ago. We are very worried," she said.

"We tried every possible way to contact him but failed," Abdur Rauf, personal assistant of Azim, told local journalists.

Azim's sister Taslima Khatun said, "We have informed the highest level of the government about the matter."

An official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata told The Daily Star, "A GD [general diary] relating to Anwarul Azim going missing was filed yesterday [Saturday]."

The GD was registered by one Gopal Biswas of Mandalpara Lane under Baranagar Police Station in West Bengal.

The mission has taken up the matter with the Indian authorities, the official added.

Mohammad Abu Azif, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station, said, "We have informed our senior officials about the matter."

No one filed any complaint with his station, he said.

KM Abdus Salam, senior secretary at the parliament secretariat, told The Daily Star that the MP's family had not contacted him.

Azim was wanted by Interpol in 2008 for crimes related to weapons and explosives, according to media reports.

Several cases were filed against him in Jheniadah and Chuadanga.

Several leaders of the upazila unit AL said that after Azim became MP in 2014, he was cleared in most of the cases lodged against him. He was reelected in 2018 and 2024.

Talking to reporters at the DB office yesterday evening, its chief Mohammad Harun Or Rashid said MP Azim used a Bangladeshi SIM and an Indian SIM in India.

The two numbers were sometimes found switched off and sometimes operational.  The issue is also being discussed with the Indian police. Police are trying to find out what happened to Azim.

Harun said that on the morning of May 16, a call was made from Azim's phone to his APS and a leader of Jhenaidah district AL.  But no one picked up the phone.  His location was traced at Muzaffarabad.  He said they were taking this matter seriously and was in contact with the Indian police.

After a programme in the city, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists that there is nothing to worry about the lawmaker.

"The lawmaker has gone to Kolkata. He will come back," he said.

"Our NSI is working. Indian law enforcement agencies have been informed. There is no reason to worry. He is a member of parliament. He knows what he is doing. He went to neighbouring India. He has not gone to Myanmar where fighting is going on. I think he will come back," the home boss added.

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AL MP Azim ‘traceless in India for three days’

Says family
MP Azim murder
File photo of MP Anwarul Azim Anar

Awami League lawmaker Anwarul Azim Anar of Jhenaidah-4 constituency has been "missing in India" for three days.

The three-time MP and president of Kaliganj upazila unit AL went to India on May 12 to receive medical treatment, Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen, daughter of the 56 year old, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We last had contact with my father three days ago. We are very worried," she said.

"We tried every possible way to contact him but failed," Abdur Rauf, personal assistant of Azim, told local journalists.

Azim's sister Taslima Khatun said, "We have informed the highest level of the government about the matter."

An official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata told The Daily Star, "A GD [general diary] relating to Anwarul Azim going missing was filed yesterday [Saturday]."

The GD was registered by one Gopal Biswas of Mandalpara Lane under Baranagar Police Station in West Bengal.

The mission has taken up the matter with the Indian authorities, the official added.

Mohammad Abu Azif, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station, said, "We have informed our senior officials about the matter."

No one filed any complaint with his station, he said.

KM Abdus Salam, senior secretary at the parliament secretariat, told The Daily Star that the MP's family had not contacted him.

Azim was wanted by Interpol in 2008 for crimes related to weapons and explosives, according to media reports.

Several cases were filed against him in Jheniadah and Chuadanga.

Several leaders of the upazila unit AL said that after Azim became MP in 2014, he was cleared in most of the cases lodged against him. He was reelected in 2018 and 2024.

Talking to reporters at the DB office yesterday evening, its chief Mohammad Harun Or Rashid said MP Azim used a Bangladeshi SIM and an Indian SIM in India.

The two numbers were sometimes found switched off and sometimes operational.  The issue is also being discussed with the Indian police. Police are trying to find out what happened to Azim.

Harun said that on the morning of May 16, a call was made from Azim's phone to his APS and a leader of Jhenaidah district AL.  But no one picked up the phone.  His location was traced at Muzaffarabad.  He said they were taking this matter seriously and was in contact with the Indian police.

After a programme in the city, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists that there is nothing to worry about the lawmaker.

"The lawmaker has gone to Kolkata. He will come back," he said.

"Our NSI is working. Indian law enforcement agencies have been informed. There is no reason to worry. He is a member of parliament. He knows what he is doing. He went to neighbouring India. He has not gone to Myanmar where fighting is going on. I think he will come back," the home boss added.

Comments

এনজিও অর্থায়ন: নতুন উৎস খুঁজতে হবে বাংলাদেশকে

উন্নয়ন খাতে বিদেশি সহায়তা ক্রমাগত কমতে থাকায় প্রান্তিক জনগোষ্ঠীকে সহায়তাকারী এনজিওগুলোর কার্যক্রম টিকিয়ে রাখতে বাংলাদেশকে বিকল্প তহবিলের উৎস খুঁজতে হবে বলে মনে করছেন বিশেষজ্ঞরা।

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