Shamim Osman to be quizzed?
Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman will possibly be interrogated soon in connection with the Narayanganj seven-murder, said several members of the government probe committee yesterday.
Two days after his phone conversation with prime accused Nur Hossain was leaked to the media, the officials said it was high time to interrogate the lawmaker.
The conversation, which reportedly took place on April 29, clearly indicates that Shamim assured Hossain of help in fleeing the country.
The officials said Shamim's possible involvement in the murders needs to be investigated because he had patronised both Hossain and Nazrul Islam, the latter being one of the seven men murdered.
Besides, he had been in touch with Hossain before and after the murder, they told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
Shamim, much feared by locals as a crime lord of Narayanganj, admitted to having the phone conversation with Hossain but claimed the media had published it partially.
The victims' families, however, demanded his arrest and trial.
On April 27, Nazrul, his four aides, senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver were kidnapped from the Dhaka-Narayanganj link road.
Of them, six, including Nazrul and Chandan, were found dead and floating in the Shitalakkhya on April 30. Another body was found the following day. The other victims are Moniruzzaman Swapan, Tajul Islam, Liton, Jahangir and Ibrahim.
At least twenty people have been taken on remand in connection with the murder -- several of them up to two times -- but none of them have yet given any confessional statement to a magistrate.
The arrested include Nur Hossain's personal assistant, driver and bodyguards.
Police officials told The Daily Star that one of the arrested men had described how the abduction and murder took place.
The arrested individual narrated how the group had picked up Nazrul Islam and the six others near Fatullah stadium by making them unconscious.
Later, the seven were transferred to Nur Hossain at his truck stand, from where they were taken away by the prime accused and his associates.
However, the arrestee later withdrew the statement, claiming he had said so in the heat of the interrogation.
The truth of this statement cannot be investigated because of an oversight by law enforcers and doctors who conducted the autopsies. No viscera samples of the deceased have been collected, thus making it impossible to determine whether Nazrul and the other six had indeed been made unconscious.
The civil surgeon of Narayanganj, Dulal Chandra Chowdhury, said, “We did not keep any viscera because the cause of death was ascertained during autopsies.”
Meanwhile, police officials told this correspondent that only after the arrest of all the accused would they be able to know whether Rab officials had indeed aided in the murders in exchange for Tk 6 crore, as alleged by Nazrul's father-in-law Shahid Chairman.
Over the allegation, three ex-Rab officials -- including Rab-11 commanding officer Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud -- were detained as suspects on May 17 and 18.
There were six accused in the case until police on Thursday accused Lt Col Tareque and Maj Arif of involvement in the murder.
Today, the probe committee will interrogate former superintendent of Narayanganj police Syed Nurul Islam and former deputy commissioner Manoj Kanti Boral at the secretariat.
Both of them were transferred following allegations by the victims' families and locals that they had continuously overlooked the crimes committed by Hossain.
SHAMIM'S ARREST DEMANDED
Victims' families last night demanded the arrest of Shamim Osman as they believed he is an obstacle to arresting the main accused in the sensational seven-murder case.
Family members and supporters of the slain councillor Nazrul Islam brought out a procession in front of Nazrul's residence at Mijhmijhi of Siddhirganj around 8:00pm. They chanted slogans demanding Shamim's arrest and punishment, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.
Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad was inside Nazrul's house at that time. He went there to console the family.
It was the first procession that sought arrest of Shamim Osman.
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