Quader also had plan to kill a JP leader: Police

MP Liton murder

The police have claimed that arrested former Jatiya Party (JP) MP from the Gaibandha-1 constituency, Dr Abdul Quader Khan, not only masterminded the murder of Awami League (AL)-backed  MP Manzurul Islam Liton, but also planned to kill another MP candidate backed by the JP.
 After the murder of Liton, the Gaibandha-1 constituency became vacant and Quader Khan was lobbying to get nomination from the JP. But as the party nominated JP chairman Hossain Mohammad Ershad’s political adviser, barrister Shamim Haider Patowari, Quader Khan became annoyed and planned to kill Shamim to clear his way to be MP again, said the police.
The JP, though officially the Opposition in Parliament, has two of its members in the Cabinet and HM Ershad is the special emissary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 On 31 December last year, Liton was shot dead by unidentified persons at his home in Masterpara of Sundarganj upazila in Gaibandha. On a number of occasions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had accused the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of killing Liton, saying that he was very vocal and had put up resistance against the Jamaat.
 Quader Khan has failed to provide accurate information of his missing 40 rounds of bullets, along with a magazine, of his licenced pistol. Investigators suspect that these bullets were used to kill Liton and the rest were kept to murder Shamim.
 Talking to The Independent, Md Atiar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sundhorganj police station, said Quader Khan bought a pistol and 50 rounds of bullets, along with two magazines, in March last year. After the killing of Liton, the police sought information about the pistol and the bullets. Three days ago, Quader Khan handed over the pistol and 10 rounds of bullets to the police, but could not account for the missing 40 rounds of bullets and a magazine. 

During confessional statements made before the court of judicial magistrate Joynal Abedin, Quader Khan’s three aides—Mehedi, Shahin Mia and Hannan—admitted that they used the pistol of Quader Khan in the murder of Liton.
While addressing a press conference, Khandaker Golam Faruq, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, said Quader Khan was behind the killing of Liton. 
He also said the former MP from the constituency had masterminded the killing and had been hatching the conspiracy for the past one year. The assailants were trained for six months in a warehouse, the DIG added.
Quoting the confessional statements, the DIG said Quader Khan told the miscreants that they would face no problems if he became  MP. Not only did he provide the killers with a house and cars, he also assured them that he would reward them by giving licences for petrol pumps in the Sundhorganj area.
Faruq said three of the four assailants were Quader Khan’s chauffeur, Abdul Hannan, and house supervisors, Shahin Mia and Mehedi. They confessed before a magistrate’s court following their arrests. “We arrested him on the basis of their statements. But we yet to arrest the other assailant, Rana,” he added.
Former Bangladesh Army colonel and a doctor by training, Quader is a presidium member of the Jatiya Party. He got the party’s nomination in the past two elections.
Faruq did not address the issue of the motive, but a police officer involved in the investigation said they suspect the move was aimed to clear his path for the upcoming election.
Quader Khan had collected a nomination paper for the by-polls, but did not submit it, said returning officer GM Mahtab Uddin. 
The deadline to file nominations ended on February 19.
But four days prior to that, 20–25 policemen were deployed at Quader Khan’s house in Bogra City, citing security concerns for fear of a militant attack. Law enforcers kept his house cordoned-off until Tuesday afternoon when he was arrested.
During the wee hours yesterday (Wednesday), the police searched the former MP’s Bogra house for the second time. The search started at midnight and continued until 4:30am yesterday, said OC Mahbubul Alam of Gaibandha police’s special branch.  
“We have seized laptops, mobile phones, and DVR and hard disks for CCTV cameras,” he added.

Quader also had plan to kill a JP leader: Police

MP Liton murder

The police have claimed that arrested former Jatiya Party (JP) MP from the Gaibandha-1 constituency, Dr Abdul Quader Khan, not only masterminded the murder of Awami League (AL)-backed MP Manzurul Islam Liton, but also planned to kill another MP candidate backed by the JP. After the murder of Liton, the Gaibandha-1 constituency became vacant and Quader Khan was lobbying to get nomination from the JP. But as the party nominated JP chairman Hossain Mohammad Ershads political adviser, barrister Shamim Haider Patowari, Quader Khan became annoyed and planned to kill Shamim to clear his way to be MP again, said the police. The JP, though officially the Opposition in Parliament, has two of its members in the Cabinet and HM Ershad is the special emissary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On 31 December last year, Liton was shot dead by unidentified persons at his home in Masterpara of Sundarganj upazila in Gaibandha. On a number of occasions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had accused the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of killing Liton, saying that he was very vocal and had put up resistance against the Jamaat. Quader Khan has failed to provide accurate information of his missing 40 rounds of bullets, along with a magazine, of his licenced pistol. Investigators suspect that these bullets were used to kill Liton and the rest were kept to murder Shamim. Talking to The Independent, Md Atiar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sundhorganj police station, said Quader Khan bought a pistol and 50 rounds of bullets, along with two magazines, in March last year. After the killing of Liton, the police sought information about the pistol and the bullets. Three days ago, Quader Khan handed overthe pistol and 10 rounds of bullets to the police, but could not account for the missing 40 rounds of bullets and a magazine. During confessional statements made before the court of judicial magistrate Joynal Abedin, Quader Khans three aidesMehedi, Shahin Mia and Hannanadmitted that they used the pistol of Quader Khan in the murder of Liton. While addressing a press conference, Khandaker Golam Faruq, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, said Quader Khan was behind the killing of Liton. He also said the former MP from the constituency had masterminded the killing and had been hatching the conspiracy for the past one year. The assailants were trained for six months in a warehouse, the DIG added. Quoting the confessional statements, the DIG said Quader Khan told the miscreants that they would face no problems if he became MP. Not only did he provide the killers with a house and cars, he also assured them that he would reward them by giving licences for petrol pumps in the Sundhorganj area. Faruq said three of the four assailants were Quader Khans chauffeur, Abdul Hannan, and house supervisors, Shahin Mia and Mehedi. They confessed before a magistrates court following their arrests. We arrested him on the basis of their statements. But we yet to arrest the other assailant, Rana, he added. Former Bangladesh Army colonel and a doctor by training, Quader is a presidium member of the Jatiya Party. He got the partys nomination in the past two elections. Faruq did not address the issue of the motive, but a police officer involved in the investigation said they suspect the move was aimed to clear his path for the upcoming election. Quader Khan had collected a nomination paper for the by-polls, but did not submit it, said returning officer GM Mahtab Uddin. The deadline to file nominations ended on February 19. But four days prior to that, 2025 policemen were deployed at Quader Khans house in Bogra City, citing security concerns for fear of a militant attack. Law enforcers kept his house cordoned-off until Tuesday afternoon when he was arrested. During the wee hours yesterday (Wednesday), the police searched the former MPs Bogra house for the second time. The search started at midnight and continued until 4:30am yesterday, said OC Mahbubul Alam of Gaibandha polices special branch. We have seized laptops, mobile phones, and DVR and hard disks for CCTV cameras, he added.