MP Azim Murder: Nepal extradited key suspect Siyam to India

A Bangladeshi citizen accused in the murder case of Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar has been extradited to India by Nepal Police. Nepal police handed him over to Indian authorities on Monday. 

A Nepal Police source said that he was sent to India by land. Nepal Police apprehended Mohammad Siyam Hussain on Wednesday. Although Bangladesh Police wanted Hussain, he was sent to India because he had come from India. 

A high police source said, “Mohammad Siyam Hussain was handed over to Indian authorities by Nepal’s INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) branch on Monday morning after Nepal Police contacted him.” 

According to police, the Special Bureau and INTERPOL branch had been discussing deporting Hussain from the beginning.

Dhan Bahadur Karki, spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) said that he had no information about this case. Karki said, “Neither I nor the Nepal Police have any information. I saw news published by Bangladesh media on Saturday. I have no other information.” 

According to him, the central police organization is not even informed about the arrest of such suspicious people.

Hussain, the accused murderer, was arrested from the border area of Nepal last Thursday. The senior officials of India had also requested the Nepal Police not to extradite him to Bangladesh.

An officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs (India) also thanked Basanta Kunwar, Nepal’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the arrest of Hussain. 

Although Bangladesh Police came to Nepal to make diplomatic efforts to arrest Hussain, Nepal Police requested  them to coordinate with the Indian Police Service, and sent the accused to India.

An officer of the Special Bureau of Nepal Police said that they had informed the Bangladeshi team that they could not directly send him to Bangladesh as it is a matter of saving lives. 

According to the officer, only IGP Kunwar, DIG Ramdutt Joshi and an officer of INTERPOL branch were aware of this case.

The police also responded to Bangladesh Police that Nepal has not entered into any extradition treaty with any country, so they were unable to send Hussain to Bangladesh. 

Nepal police objected to sending Hussain to Bangladesh because according to laws of Bangladesh, he could face the death penalty.

An officer of Nepal Police said, “Those involved in this incident will be prosecuted under the The Penal Code, 1860. Therefore, we have sent him to India instead of Bangladesh.”

Nepal-India police have been informally cooperating in crime control for a long time and the criminals are also involved in the exchange. Police believed it would be easy to extradite him to India because a Bangladeshi MP was murdered in Kolkata.

A team of four members from the Detective Branch (DB) under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had come to Kathmandu to pick Hussain up. 

The team met a senior officer of Nepal Police and requested them to deport Hussain. The Bangladesh Police team returned after the Nepal Police disregarded their request.

After discovering Hussain’s alleged involvement in the murder of Bangladeshi MP Anar, he was taken into custody by the police. 

Bangladeshi MP Anar was found murdered in Kolkata on May 22, 2024. The Indian police said that some of the suspects have been apprehended of being implicated in the murder allegation while some suspicious people remained on the absconding list.

Indian news agencies said that three Bangladeshi and one Indian citizen have been arrested in connection with the murder allegations. Additionally, Indian news agencies broadcast the news that four individuals including Hussain remained on the absconding list. 

Indian intelligence agencies said that some suspects were arrested in India while others had entered Nepal. 

Nepal Police has increased surveillance on suspicious individuals based on that information.

An officer of the Intelligence Agency in Bangladesh suspects that MP Anar was allegedly running a gold smuggling business with Mohammad Akhtarzaman and other American friends. They used to smuggle gold from Dubai to India via Bangladesh.

Last year, there was a dispute between Anar and Akhtarzaman regarding the distribution of the smuggled gold. 

This led to a rift in their friendship. Akhtarzaman is also a suspect in MP Anar’s murder case. The Bangladeshi police suspect that influential individuals are also involved in the assassination of MP Anar.  

It is said that Bangladesh Police will take help from INTERPOL to apprehend the murder suspect Akhtarzaman who traveled to the USA via Nepal’s airport on May 29. But the red notice has not been issued as Akhtarzaman’s case has not reached the court.

Jihad Hawaldar who was arrested on the charge of the murder has testified to the Indian Police that the body was dismembered and disposed of. 

According to the Press Trust India (PTI), the Bangladesh Police and detective branch officers had reached Kolkata to investigate the incident. They interrogated Hawaldar who was arrested on the charge of murder.

Earlier on Saturday, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) India said that the entire incident occurred within 15 minutes of MP Anar’s entry into the apartment. Chloroform was used to render Anar unconscious. 

Hawaldar said in his testimony that the murder was committed with the help of a pillow after that. The CID said that the killer dismembered the body and wrapped the body parts and kept them in a plastic bag and a suitcase before disposing of the body parts.

It was ascertained when MP Anar was assassinated, his body was found on May 22 in Kolkata, India. Indian security officers estimated that MP Anar was assassinated before May 22. According to Akhtarzaman, Hawaldhar testified that the murder of MP Anar was executed under the direction of Akhtarzaman.

Nepal Police claim that Akhtarzaman, 56, traveled to the USA after the murder of MP Anar. 

MP Anar reached Kolkata on May 12, 2024 for his treatment. The next day, he reportedly told his family that he was going to Delhi. 

Following that, a search operation was conducted after he went contactless.

Source: Republica