National
Kolkata Police Recover Body of Missing Bangladeshi MP
Kolkata police have recovered the body of Anwarul Azim Anar, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Jhenaidah-4 constituency in Bangladesh, eight days after he went missing in India. His body was found in a flat at Sanjeeva Garden in Kolkata’s New Town early this morning, confirmed a deputy police commissioner.
Sources within the Kolkata police revealed that the flat belongs to an excise duty official. Azim’s daughter, Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen, who is currently in Kolkata, rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.
The case is being investigated by the Special Task Force of India, with officials from the central investigation branch and the Barrakpur detective branch present at the crime scene. According to Kolkata police, the incident was a premeditated murder.
Meanwhile, Abdur Rauf, Azim’s personal secretary, stated that they have not yet received official information regarding the MP’s death. “We haven’t received any official information about the MP’s death, but his family is in Dhaka, stuck with visa applications, awaiting approval to travel to India,” he said.
Azim went missing on May 12, a day after arriving in India for medical purposes, according to his family. On May 19, his daughter Doreen sought the help of the detective branch (DB) of police to track her father’s location. The DB police had been collaborating with Indian authorities in the search for MP Azim.
According to DB Chief Harun-or-Rashid, MP Azim entered India through the Darshana-Gede border on May 12. He stayed at the house of a man named Gopal and left the house after breakfast the next day. “He was supposed to return by evening but did not,” said Harun.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate rain showers across the country within the next 24 hours, starting from 9 AM on Saturday.
According to a bulletin issued by the Met office, “Light to moderate rain or thunder showers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, are expected in many areas of the Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. A few places in the Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions, as well as one or two spots in the Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions, may also experience similar weather. Additionally, moderately heavy to heavy rainfall is anticipated in parts of the Khulna, Barishal, and Chattogram divisions.”
Meanwhile, a mild heat wave is sweeping through the Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions, along with Tangail, Sylhet, and Chuadanga districts. This heat wave may subside in some regions.
Temperatures across the country are expected to remain nearly unchanged, both during the day and at night.
The bulletin further explained that the low-pressure area over the North Bay and its adjoining regions has intensified into a well-marked low, now positioned over Gangetic West Bengal and the northwest Bay. The axis of the monsoon trough extends from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and the center of the well-marked low to Assam, passing through the southern part of Bangladesh.
Overall, the monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and exhibits moderate to strong activity over the North Bay.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today visited the massively damaged Setu Bhaban and Department of Disaster Management at Mohakhali here by the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men during the nationwide mayhem centering the quota reform movement.
After entering the Setu Bhaban, she looked appalled seeing its different damaged sections as she had teary-eyed.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, among others, were present.
Several hundred of miscreants stormed into the Setu Bhaban on July 18 last and vandalized it badly, set it on fire, and looted government property from the bhaban.
They also vandalized many vehicles, motorbikes, ransacked different sheds and rooms and later set those on fire and beat many employees of the Setu Bhaban black and blue.
The prime minister later inspected the Department of Disaster Management at Mohakhali and saw different sections of the damaged establishment which was also came under terror attack on July 18.
High officials of the Setu Bhaban and Department of Disaster Management gave a brief description of the devastation of the two buildings.
The terror attacks on the government establishments was carried out across the country by the BNP-Jamaat clique cashing in on the quota reform movement.
Leaders of the quota reform movement have resolutely refused to negotiate with the government, insisting that their movement will persist until their demands are met.
In a Facebook post, Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the movement, declared, “No discussion through stepping onto blood.”
Asif Mahmud, another prominent leader, echoed this sentiment, stating, “There can be no dialogue with bullets. I would prefer death over this betrayal.”
He further elaborated, “On one side, there are bullets. On the other, there is a call for dialogue. We can’t sit for dialogue while stepping onto the blood of our brothers.”
Earlier, leaders of the quota reform movement accused the government of escalating the law and order situation towards violence, asserting that their movement was peaceful until the government’s intervention.
Vowing to continue their struggle, Asif Mahmud stated, “We will continue our protests till we achieve our demands for reformation of the quota system, reopening of the halls and campuses, making university campuses terror-free, withdrawing political forces from the campuses, and punishing the killers and attackers.”
He added, “The people of the country have encircled those who tried to corner us. No conspiracy will be able to derail our movement.”
