MP Azim murder: One murder, too many questions

The detectives have come up with multiple theories since Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar was killed over a month ago.

Initially, law enforcement officials said the MP was killed due to a gold smuggling-related feud,  placing suspicion on a fellow lawmaker and a powerful businessman -- both allegedly part of the same syndicate as Azim.

The probe into the gold smuggling issue remained stalled.

The investigation has taken so many twists and turns since then that it has raised some doubts and confusion in the public mind.

Suddenly, political rivalry came into the mix as a possible reason for the murder following the arrest and confession of Kazi Kamal Ahmed Babu, relief and social welfare affairs secretary of the Jhenaidah Awami League.

Suspects appeared and were held from far-flung corners of the country, each with a purported motive for the MP's demise.

Adding to the confusion is the mystery surrounding the remains found in a Kolkata apartment.

Though suspected to be Azim's, his family is yet to get the green light to visit Kolkata for DNA tests.

Abdur Rauf, a personal assistant of Azim, told The Daily Star, "We were supposed to go Kolkata on July 3, but we did not get any authorisation. We do not know when the authorisation will come."

Further complicating matters, three individuals who initially confessed to the crime, yesterday recanted their statements, claiming they were coerced in custody.

Was Azim eliminated in a gold-smuggling power struggle? Was he killed by his political rivals? Or is there something more sinister at play? -- these questions now surround the murder mystery.

Babu yesterday applied to a Dhaka court to withdraw his confessional statement. He was coerced, he claimed.

Two others, including the alleged killing mission coordinator Amanullah alias Shimul Bhuiyan and his cousin Tanvir Bhuiyan also applied to withdraw their confessional statements over similar reason.

Their confessional statements were pre-written by the cops, they just put their signatures on them due to torture, the three said.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubul Haque ordered the applications to be kept on record.

Confirming the developments, Advocate Ehsanul Haque Samaji said  the accused applied for treatment as they were sick due to torture in remand. The court ordered the jail authorities to provide treatment as per the jail code, he added.

Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of (Wari division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that he is unaware of the matter.

Meanwhile, Mustafizur Rahman Fakir and Foysal Ali Sahazi have given confessional statements in the court on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In addition to arranging for their visa, passports and travel arrangements,  Aktaruzzaman, one of the masterminds behind the murder, also provided the two with chloroform and other weapons used for the murder through his personal assistant Siam.

The two also cleaned the flat after murdering the MP, said Harun Or Rashid, additional commissioner (Detective Branch) of DMP.

Drives are underway to arrest more suspects whose names are emerging from the investigation, he added.

Azim went to Kolkata on May 12 and stayed at a friend's house overnight. He left the house the next day saying he would visit a doctor.

On May 22, police from India and Bangladesh said Azim was killed in a Kolkata flat.