Irfanul Islam

On the eve of the second anniversary of Drik Gallery official Irfanul Islam's killing, the police investigation officer last week made the same comment that he made a year ago -- there is “no lead” in the probe.

Today, the day Irfanul was found dead, his only son, Iftekhar Ul Islam, appears in this year's HSC examination without seeing any outcome of the letter he wrote to the prime minister requesting her intervention on February 22 last year.

Missing his father on his side during one of the most important public examinations in his life, Iftekhar lamented, “If my father was alive, the day would've been different for me. He used to stay up late with me during my preparations before any exam. He never let any problem touch me before or during an exam… I miss him…”

An accounts and administrative official at Drik Gallery, Irfanul Islam, 48, was found dead in a roadside bush in Narayanganj on April 2 in 2016. He went missing from the capital's Dhanmondi the same day, after withdrawing Tk 3.08 lakh from a bank.

Speaking with The Daily Star last week, the investigation officer, Inspector Munshi Asadullah of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), again said they could not find any clue after checking CCTV footages, scrutinising the call list on Irfanul's mobile phone and talking with people.

Except for repeating the same information a year apart, Inspector Munshi could not mention whether they looked into any new avenue over the past year to expedite the investigation process.

“Neither the victim's family nor his office [colleagues] suspect anyone for the murder,” he said.

Police are yet to ascertain the reasons behind the killing, let alone making any arrest.

So far, the only consolation Irfanul's widow, Johora Akhter, and their son, Iftekhar, has is the March 8 reply letter from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) mentioning that it has asked the home ministry to take necessary steps in this regard.

However, the letter did not produce any noticeable action, said Johora Akhter.

The investigation officer did not even contact them over the past one year, she said, adding that the last time he, Inspector Munshi Asadullah, contacted them was on the first death anniversary of her husband's killing, soon after this correspondent inquired Inspector Munshi about the state of the investigation.                

“That was the only single time he [Munshi] contacted us since he became the investigation officer of the case on November 2016… The investigator keeps  telling the same story and contacts us only when the media runs any report on the issue,” a frustrated Johora told The Daily Star.

Her son and she do not have anyone to support them in their effort to pursue justice, she said helplessly.

The case investigation officer before Munshi was Mohammmad Yousuf, a sub-inspector of CID. Before Yousuf, the case was investigated by Kalabagan police and the detective branch.