Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
DNA analysis has confirmed that remains recovered during the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) investigation into the murder of then-member of parliament Md Anwarul Azim Anar belonged to the slain lawmaker, reports Hindustan Times.
Anar, a three-time Awami League MP from Jhenaidah, was reportedly murdered in a flat in Kolkata's New Town on May 13.
According to investigators, his body was dismembered, skinned, and disposed of. The flesh was allegedly flushed down a commode, while the bones were discarded along the banks of a canal.
The MP arrived in West Bengal on May 12 and went missing the following day, prompting a joint investigation by police in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.
On May 22, authorities confirmed his death.
By May 28, the CID and Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch had recovered several kilos of flesh from the septic tank of an apartment in North 24 Parganas, which were sent for forensic analysis.
Later, on June 9, bones were recovered from a canal bank in South 24 Parganas.
“DNA reports have confirmed that the flesh and bones recovered from the canal banks and the flat are those of the Bangladeshi MP,” a senior CID official told Hindustan Times.
To facilitate the investigation, the CID collected DNA samples from Anar's daughter, Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen, who had travelled to Kolkata in November.
These samples were analyzed at a Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
Detective police in Dhaka arrested at least seven suspects, while the CID apprehended two accused individuals after the murder.
However, the alleged mastermind, Aktaruzzaman Shahin, remains at large.
Shahin, reportedly a long-time business associate of Anar, is believed to have fled to the United States.
