Six fugitive killers still at large

One to be brought back by this govt, hopes Shahriar; letter sent afresh to Interpol: IGP

The government is yet to bring back the six convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman even 17 years after a court sentenced them to death. Not only that, the taskforce formed in 2010 to bring back the killers of Bangabandhu, is yet to trace the whereabouts of two of the killers – former Lt. Col. SHMB Noor Chowdhury and Lt. Col. Rashed Chowdhury. It was Noor Chowdhury, who shot dead Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975. Presently he is living in Canada and Rashed Chowdhury is in USA.
Bangladesh is banking on diplomatic channels and other means to ferret out the four fugitives – sacked Lt. Col. Khondokar Abdul Rashid, Major (retd.) Shariful Haque Dalim, Capt. (retd.) Abdul Majed and Risalder (retd.) Mosleh Uddin, sources in the ministries of home and the foreign affairs said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told The Independent that there is no update about the six fugitive killers of the Father of the Nation till date. “We have not been able to trace all the fugitive killers,” he said. “The foreign minister is looking into the matter and he is trying to bring them (killers) back.”
Sources in the law and foreign ministries said Canada and USA have reservations regarding the sentences against Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury. Therefore, they are going slow about handing them over.
However, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam expressed his hope yesterday that at least one absconding killer of Bangabandhu may be brought home back during the tenure of the current government.
Speaking at a media briefing at the foreign ministry, he said, “Hopefully, we will be able to bring back at least one fugitive killer of Bangabandhu within the tenure of this government.”
“We are dealing with two of the killers. Rashed Chowdhury is in political asylum. Knowing this, it will be easy for us to complete the repatriation procedure. We have already taken some steps in this regards,” he said.
Shahriar also said they have no lacking in sincerity over the matter. But the task is almost impossible in some cases, he added.
A top official in the foreign ministry said that Bangladeshi missions abroad have already provided photographs and details of the killers to the governments in host countries, including the USA, Canada, India, Pakistan, Libya, Senegal and South Africa.
“All main airports and police forces in those countries have been alerted to look out for the four fugitives,” he said.
Sources in the home ministry said, a team visited India in 2013 to trace Abdul Majed and Mosleh Uddin, who were suspected of hiding somewhere in India. But it failed to trace them.
The other two, Khondokar and Dalim, are believed to be hiding either in Pakistan, Libya or Zimbabwe. Another fugitive, Lt. Col. Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe.
The government of Sheikh Hasina formed a taskforce in 2010 for bringing back the fugitive killers. It has so far held at least 15 inter-ministerial meetings, but without much success.
“It is now virtually impossible to trace and bring back the fugitives in the remaining two months of the present government’s tenure,” a source said.
In a historic judgment on November 8, 1998, a Dhaka court had sentenced 15 former army officers to death by a firing squad for assassinating Bangabandhu, along with most of his family members on August 15, 1975.
The 15 who were sentenced to death were Col. (retd.) Syed Farooqur Rahman, Lt. Col. (retd.) Sulatan Shariyar Rashid Khan, Lt. Col. (retd.) Muhiuddin Khan, Col. (retd.) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt. Col. (retd.) Aziz Pasha, Maj. (retd.) Shariful Haq Dalim, Maj. (retd.) Bazlul Huda, Maj. (retd.) Noor Chowdhury, Maj. (retd.) Mohiuddin, Maj. (retd.) Rashed Chowhury, Maj. (retd.) Ahmed Sharful Hasan, Capt. (retd.) Majed, Lt. (retd.) Nazmul Ansar, Risalder (retd.) Osleuddin and Capt. (retd.) Kismm. Of them, Farookur Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Shahriar Rashid Khan, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Bazlul Huda were hanged on January 28, 2010.
During the period of the last caretaker government, Bangabandhu’s convicted killer Major. (retd.) Mohiuddin Ahmed was brought back from the United States to face justice at home. BSS adds: Bangladesh Police forwarded a letter afresh to the Interpol to know current status of the six fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as they are changing their locations, reports BSS.
Police and officials earlier said the fugitives appeared to be on movements from one country to another or were changing their locations to evade the security clampdown.
"We have sent a fresh letter to the Interpol through the Home Ministry few days back requesting it to inform us the latest location of the six fugitive killers as they have been changing their locations," Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque told the news agency.

Six fugitive killers still at large

One to be brought back by this govt, hopes Shahriar; letter sent afresh to Interpol: IGP

The government is yet to bring back the six convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman even 17 years after a court sentenced them to death. Not only that, the taskforce formed in 2010 to bring back the killers of Bangabandhu, is yet to trace the whereabouts of two of the killers former Lt. Col. SHMB Noor Chowdhury and Lt. Col. Rashed Chowdhury. It was Noor Chowdhury, who shot dead Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975. Presently he is living in Canada and Rashed Chowdhury is in USA. Bangladesh is banking on diplomatic channels and other means to ferret out the four fugitives sacked Lt. Col. Khondokar Abdul Rashid, Major (retd.) Shariful Haque Dalim, Capt. (retd.) Abdul Majed and Risalder (retd.) Mosleh Uddin, sources in the ministries of home and the foreign affairs said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told The Independent that there is no update about the six fugitive killers of the Father of the Nation till date. We have not been able to trace all the fugitive killers, he said. The foreign minister is looking into the matter and he is trying to bring them (killers) back. Sources in the law and foreign ministries said Canada and USA have reservations regarding the sentences against Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury. Therefore, they are going slow about handing them over. However, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam expressed his hope yesterday that at least one absconding killer of Bangabandhu may be brought home back during the tenure of the current government. Speaking at a media briefing at the foreign ministry, he said, Hopefully, we will be able to bring back at least one fugitive killer of Bangabandhu within the tenure of this government. We are dealing with two of the killers. Rashed Chowdhury is in political asylum. Knowing this, it will be easy for us to complete the repatriation procedure. We have already taken some steps in this regards, he said. Shahriar also said they have no lacking in sincerity over the matter. But the task is almost impossible in some cases, he added. A top official in the foreign ministry said that Bangladeshi missions abroad have already provided photographs and details of the killers to the governments in host countries, including the USA, Canada, India, Pakistan, Libya, Senegal and South Africa. All main airports and police forces in those countries have been alerted to look out for the four fugitives, he said. Sources in the home ministry said, a team visited India in 2013 to trace Abdul Majed and Mosleh Uddin, who were suspected of hiding somewhere in India. But it failed to trace them. The other two, Khondokar and Dalim, are believed to be hiding either in Pakistan, Libya or Zimbabwe. Another fugitive, Lt. Col. Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe. The government of Sheikh Hasina formed a taskforce in 2010 for bringing back the fugitive killers. It has so far held at least 15 inter-ministerial meetings, but without much success. It is now virtually impossible to trace and bring back the fugitives in the remaining two months of the present governments tenure, a source said. In a historic judgment on November 8, 1998, a Dhaka court had sentenced 15 former army officers to death by a firing squad for assassinating Bangabandhu, along with most of his family members on August 15, 1975. The 15 who were sentenced to death were Col. (retd.) Syed Farooqur Rahman, Lt. Col. (retd.) Sulatan Shariyar Rashid Khan, Lt. Col. (retd.) Muhiuddin Khan, Col. (retd.) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt. Col. (retd.) Aziz Pasha, Maj. (retd.) Shariful Haq Dalim, Maj. (retd.) Bazlul Huda, Maj. (retd.) Noor Chowdhury, Maj. (retd.) Mohiuddin, Maj. (retd.) Rashed Chowhury, Maj. (retd.) Ahmed Sharful Hasan, Capt. (retd.) Majed, Lt. (retd.) Nazmul Ansar, Risalder (retd.) Osleuddin and Capt. (retd.) Kismm. Of them, Farookur Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Shahriar Rashid Khan, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Bazlul Huda were hanged on January 28, 2010. During the period of the last caretaker government, Bangabandhus convicted killer Major. (retd.) Mohiuddin Ahmed was brought back from the United States to face justice at home. BSS adds: Bangladesh Police forwarded a letter afresh to the Interpol to know current status of the six fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as they are changing their locations, reports BSS. Police and officials earlier said the fugitives appeared to be on movements from one country to another or were changing their locations to evade the security clampdown. We have sent a fresh letter to the Interpol through the Home Ministry few days back requesting it to inform us the latest location of the six fugitive killers as they have been changing their locations, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque told the news agency.