 "Jhenaidah-4 constituency lawmaker Azim arrived in Kolkata for medical treatment on 12 May. Image Courtesy: @abhishekjha157/X")
Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim, who was reported missing for the past eight days in Kolkata, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday, according to Bangladeshi news portal Risingbd.
He visited India for medical treatment on 12 May and went missing two days later.
A search operation by Indian and Bangladeshi authorities had been launched to trace the missing MP.
Kolkata police have arrested two people in the case, as per Bangladesh’s The Business Standard news which quoted Kolkata police deputy commissioner.
Let’s take a closer look.
About the missing Bangladesh MP found dead in Kolkata
According to the local outlet, The Business Standard news, which quoted a deputy police commissioner, Azim’s body was recovered from an abandoned flat in Sanjeeva Garden in Kolkata’s New Town in the early hours of Wednesday.
The report, quoting its sources, said the flat belongs to an excise duty official.
On the contrary, as per NDTV report, the police suspect the MP has been murdered and that his body has been dumped in Newtown. The report added that during search operations, the police recovered a chopped body in the area, however, it has not been identified yet.
According to the local outlet, The Business Standard news, which quoted Kolkata police, Azim’s body was cut into pieces, some of which have been recovered from a flat in Sanjeeva Garden in Kolkata’s New Town in the early hours of Wednesday.
The report, quoting its sources, said the flat belongs to an excise duty official.
Asaduzzaman Khan, Bangladesh home minister, as per the Deccan Herald, said, “Quoting a DIG from India, our police said the body of Azim has been recovered in Kolkata. We are yet to have completely confirmed information about the matter. Our inspector general (IG) are looking into the details. I will inform the media once everything is confirmed.”
The inspector general of the Bangladesh police noted that they were probing if gold smuggling was involved or not.
According to a CNN-News18 source, the MP was last seen with his Bangladeshi friends.
Jhenaidah-4 constituency lawmaker Azim arrived in Kolkata for medical treatment on 12 May.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, Azim’s personal assistant, Abdur Rauf, said the lawmaker maintained contact with his family and party members for the first two days. However, his phone has remained switched off since 14 May.
The MP’s family had raised concerns with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who alerted diplomats in Delhi and Kolkata to trace the missing MP. The Bangladesh Embassy in Kolkata was also investigating the case.
Azim’s daughter, Mumtarin Ferdoush, according to India Today, lodged a complaint about her father’s disappearance with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Intelligence Department on Tuesday. As per the local The Business Standard news, Ferdoush has rushed to the site in Kolkata after hearing the news.
Senior Bangladesh intelligence officer Mohammad Haroon Rashid told reporters, that Azim used Bangladeshi and Indian SIM cards while in India. His phones were intermittently active but remained unreachable, the police said.
Notably, the MP often visited India for medical treatment and was quite familiar with Kolkata. He also had some acquaintances living in the state.
An official of the consulate said that the MP entered Kolkata via the Darshana border on 12 May, and stayed at his friend Gopal Biswas’s house in Baranagar.
Two days later, on 14 May, Azim left his friend’s house, saying he would try to return the same day or the following day. However, he did not return as informed, and Gopal Biswas was prompted to file a missing case with the Kolkata police.
The MP left his belongings at his friend’s house and left practically empty-handed.
Barrackpore police commissioner Alok Rajoria had earlier told ETV Bharat, “Apart from the state police, we have spoken to the Bihar and Chhattisgarh police about the matter because the last tower location his mobile was in Bihar. A meeting is underway to expedite the investigations.”
Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim was a resident of Nischintapur village in Jhenaidah’s Kaliganj, according to Prothomalo English.
He was the president of the upazila unit of the governing Bangladesh Awami League.
He served as an MP from the Jhenaidah-4 constituency since 2014.
According to The Daily Star, Azim was wanted by Interpol in 2008 for crimes related to weapons and explosives. Several cases were also filed against him in Jhenaidah and Chuadanga.
However, several leaders of the upazila unit AL said that Azim was cleared in most cases after he became an MP.
With inputs from agencies
Vibhuti is on the Explainers team at Firstpost. She covers a wide range of topics including Indian political affairs, international relations, climate change, among others. She likes to split her free time between travelling, reading, and doing research.