No visible progress in 2 months

Two months have passed since Jubo Dal leader Harunur Rashid Chowdhury was shot to death by a group of alleged Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Jubo League activists in Chittagong city on December 3 last year, but there is no significant progress in the case as of now. 

Even the investigators are yet to recover the firearm used in the murder, much to the frustration of the family members.

Police said the investigation has been going on at a slow pace as they could not arrest the suspects -- the 10 suspects whose names were mentioned by family members during filing the murder case, have secured anticipatory bail from the High Court (HC).

Talking to The Daily Star, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sadarghat Police Station Mohammed Nezam Uddin said, “All the 10 suspects in Harunur murder case have secured anticipatory bail from the HC after the case was filed; therefore, police could not arrest or interrogate them.”

“The firearm is yet to be traced out; however, we are investigating the case from a different angle to dig out the motive behind the murder and recover the firearm,” said the OC.

Harunur's brother Humayun Chowdhury filed the murder case against 10 named and some unnamed persons with Sadarghat Police Station.

According to the case statement, the suspects are Md Alamgir, 30; Md Kaisar, 25; Md Nur Nabi, 34; Md Hridoy, 28; Mosharraf Hossain Liton, 28; Md Sarif, 35; Md Jasim, 29; Tanvir Hossain Shaon, 30; Towkir Hossain Sejan, 30; and Hazi Md Salauddin, 40.

Of the suspects, Mosharraf Hossain Liton is a resident of the city's Moriccha Para area and backed by expelled city BCL leader Saiful Alam Limon and local councillor Golam Mohammed Jobayer, said locals.

Police sources said Alamgir allegedly provided the firearm to be used in the killing mission. The others are involved with the politics of either BCL or Jubo League. After the murder, police arrested Jasim on December 17 in connection with the murder, but he later walked out from jail securing bail in the murder case.

Another person named Faisal was also detained from the city's Halishahar on December 31 in the murder case scrutinising the footage of the murder incident. But he was later released as his involvement was not found, said police.

Meanwhile, the family expressed discontent at the current status of the case. 

Harunur's brother Humayun said, “Police did not record the First Information Report (FIR) the way we wanted -- specifying 10 people instead of filing the case against unnamed persons. This actually spoiled the merit of the sensational murder case.”

“The former OC Morzina Akter of Sadarghat Police Station misled us during filing the case, paving the way for the accused to secure bail,” he alleged, adding that the accused are now roaming free.

Inspector Morzina Akter has been transferred to Special Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).

Contacted, she brushed aside the allegation. She said she had asked Harunur's family to include unnamed persons in the FIR so that police could widen their search and interrogate more people in the murder case.   

On December 3 last year, Harunur was shot dead by six to seven youths from a tail of a procession organised by Sadarghat thana Jubo League and Awami League to celebrate the Unesco's recognition of the historic March 7 speech of the Father of the Nation.

After the murder, family members, co-workers and business leaders alleged that the extortionists plotted the murder to take revenge and establish supremacy on transport business as Harunur, the owner of ST Transport, had taken a firm stance against the extortion of BCL men from the transport businessmen.

Harunur's elder uncle Dastigir Chowdhury was a leader of BNP while his younger uncle Jahangir Chowdhury is the president of Sadarghat thana AL.