MP Anar murder: India refrains from official statements until investigation concludes

The Ministry of External Affairs in India is refraining from issuing any official statements over the murder of Jhenaidah-4 lawmaker Md Anwarul Azim Anar in Kolkata, India, until the investigation concludes.

When asked a senior official from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi about the incident (seeking anonymity), he said since there is still a lot of ambiguity about the circumstances, how and why Anwarul Azim was killed, India does not want to comment on it officially, reported Bangla Tribune’s Delhi correspondent.

He further said: "Only the West Bengal police will provide updates on this matter."

Another source from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that after learning about MP Anar's sudden disappearance in Kolkata from the Bangladesh authorities, every effort was made to locate him. Indian intelligence, in coordination with the police in Kolkata and West Bengal, was actively involved in this search.

Indian central intelligence agencies tracked the Indian SIM card used by Anwarul Azim Anar, which was briefly active near Muzaffarpur in Bihar on May 17. This information was relayed to the investigators in Dhaka through the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata.

On Wednesday morning, Kolkata Bidhannagar Police Deputy Commissioner Manav Shringla informed journalists that: “The driver of the last cab used by Anwarul Azim Anar in Kolkata admitted under interrogation that the passenger had been killed, and his body dismembered.”

However, crucial questions, such as the motive behind the murder, the number and identity of the killers, whether the local cab driver was hired for this crime, and the locations where the body parts were disposed of, remain unanswered by the police authorities.

An investigation team hinted to this correspondent that the primary suspects behind MP Anwarul Azim Anars’s murder are believed to be from Bangladesh.

Sources suggest that the murder was not simply a case of local criminal gangs targeting a foreign MP for money. The case's complexity implies a significant conspiracy that will take time to unravel.

Foreign MPs visiting India typically use diplomatic passports, as did Anwarul Azim. The death of such a high-profile guest on Indian soil is a sensitive matter. Therefore, the Indian authorities are cautious about making any statements regarding the murder until all aspects of the investigation are clear and discussions with the Bangladeshi government are held.

According to sources, the MP crossed the Darshana-Gede border into India for treatment on May 12. Anar went to his Indian friend Gopal Biswas’s home in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal.

The following day, he went out at noon to see a doctor and was supposed to return in the evening.  However, he apparently went to Delhi instead and sent a WhatsApp message to Biswas, saying he would call if necessary.

Since then, he could not be reached by phone. 

Eventually, the government confirmed his death on Wednesday, quoting Indian police.