Bangladesh MP murder: Police arrest butcher; takes his help to locate body parts
Kolkata(PTI): The West Bengal CID arrested one person from the state's Bongaon area in North 24 Parganas district for his alleged involvement in the "murder" of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, an officer said on Friday.
The man, a butcher by profession, has admitted during interrogation that he had helped the other accused in chopping the victim's body before disposing the parts in different locations, the officer claimed.
Bengal Police confirmed the murder the Anar, an Awami League MP from Jhenaidah-4 segment in Bangladesh, on Wednesday after the victim went missing from Kolkata on May 13.
State CID sleuths on Friday took the arrested person to the Bhangar area where the chopped body parts were put in plastic bags and scattered across different places, he said.
"The accused is a Bangladeshi citizen and a butcher by profession. He had entered India illegally and was staying in Mumbai hiding his true identity.
"He was called to Kolkata a couple of months back as a part of the plan to kill Anar. He has admitted that he was an accomplice to the four men who murdered the politician inside the flat and helped them in skinning and chopping the body," the police officer told PTI.
The arrested accused would be produced at a court in Barasat later Friday, he said, adding that a team of CID officers were in the process of searching for the victim's body parts at the Krishnamati village in Bhangar where the butcher had led them.
An initial probe also found out that the MP's close friend Akhtaruzzaman, a US citizen, had paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime, the senior police officer said.
A team of the West Bengal CID has visited Bangladesh on Thursday to interrogate the three accused who were arrested by Bangladesh police in connection with the case.
The MP's friend has a flat in Kolkata, and is probably in the US at present, he said.
Circumstantial evidence indicated that the MP was first strangulated and killed after which his body was chopped into pieces, police claimed.
The search for the missing MP, who reportedly arrived in Kolkata on May 12 to undergo medical treatment, began after Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata and an acquaintance of the Bangladeshi politician, filed a complaint with the local police on May 18.
Anar had stayed at Biswas's house upon arrival.
In his complaint, Biswas stated that Anar left his Baranagar residence for a doctor's appointment in the afternoon of May 13, while stating that he would be back home for dinner.
Biswas claimed that the Bangladesh MP went incommunicado since May 17, which prompted him to file a missing complaint a day later.
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Rupee falls 32 paise to all-time low of 95.20 against US dollar
Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI): The rupee depreciated 32 paise to an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by elevated Brent crude oil prices, hovering around USD 122 per barrel, and strong American currency.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair may see further downside, as rising crude oil prices are likely to sharply impact India's import costs, while concerns over potential wider conflict in West Asia are fuelling investor anxiety.
Meanwhile, the US dollar added to gains after the US FED Reserve kept rates unchanged. Safe-haven demand was also boosted by another diplomatic setback between Washington and Tehran.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.01 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 32 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at an all-time low of 94.88 against the US dollar.
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"The main effect on the rupee has been from the rising oil prices, which touched USD 120 per barrel and looked headed for further upside as the US continues with its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran does not allow any ship/tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent higher at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 3.16 per cent at USD 121.76 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 821.79 points to 76,674.57 in early trade, while the Nifty dived 287.3 points to 23,890.35.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,468.42 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue with their sale of Indian Equities and debt (the yield touched 7 per cent on Wednesday) and are also dollar buyers consistently," Bhansali added.
