Two suspects held over Mitu murder

Detectives on Thursday night arrested two more suspects in Chittagong in connection with the murder of SP Babul Akter's wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu.

Mohammad Shahjahan, 25, and Saidul Sikdar alias Shakur, 45, were arrested in separate drives in Rangunia upazila of Chittagong, said Devdas Bhattacharya, additional commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

Of them, Shahjahan was present during the murder. Saidul is the brother of Kamrul Islam Sikdar Musa, an accused in the case, said Devdas.

“He [Shahjahan] was one of the seven assailants who directly took part in the murder,” said the CMP official.

Motaleb Mia Wasim, another accused in the case, reportedly told a magistrate on June 26 that Musa hired seven to eight hit men, including him, for killing Mitu.

However, Panna Akter, wife of Musa, on Thursday told The Daily Star over the phone that plainclothes policemen picked up her husband and her brother-in-law Saidul from the port city's Katgar area on June 22.

Saidul gave the motorcycle to Musa, which was used in carrying out the murder, claimed Devdas.

Asked whether Saidul is the owner of the motorcycle, Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Kamruzzaman of Detective Branch of the CMP said Saidul could not show any documents of the motorcycle.

“We will interrogate him to know how and from where he managed the motorcycle,” said the CMP official, also the investigation officer of the case.

Police produced the arrestees before a Chittagong court yesterday and sought a 10-day remand for each of them.

The court, however, did not hear the remand prayer yesterday, and sent them to jail custody. It fixed July 17 for hearing on the remand prayer, said Nirmalendu Bikash Dey, assistant deputy commissioner (prosecution) of CMP.

Police so far arrested eight people in connection with the murder. Five were shown arrested with specific charge of involvement in the murder. Of the five, Wasim and Anwar already gave their confessional statements before a court while Bhola was sent to jail.

Meanwhile, police were yet to recover the knife used for stabbing Mitu.

Devdas said the murderers threw the knife on a road immediately after the murder and that it might have mingled with garbage, as sweepers swept the road.

He said police were trying to recover the knife as it is important evidence.

On June 5, three assailants stabbed and shot Mitu dead when she was taking her son to his school bus stop at GEC intersection in the port city.