The mastermind and instigator of Shaheed Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho, killing, Tajul Islam Chowdhury Bappi, has reportedly been detained in India's Kolkata. However, local police have yet to officially confirm the arrest.
Bappi is a former ward councillor from Mirpur and serves as organising secretary of Dhaka North Jubo League. He had reportedly been in hiding in Kolkata for a long time following the killing.
Media investigations traced his suspected hideout to a four-storey building in the West Beraberi area of Kolkata's Rajarhat. Sources said Bappi had been staying in a first-floor flat (A-3) along with four to five Awami League and Jubo League activists, all of whom face multiple cases in Bangladesh.
When journalists visited the address, Bappi was not found, though some of his alleged associates were present.
Jubo League leaders Mofiqur Rahman Ujjal, Sajibul Islam and Omar Sharif told reporters that Bappi was not currently at the flat. They claimed innocence and alleged that the cases against him were false. Despite the denials, sources said local police had already taken Bappi into custody.
However, officials at Kolkata’s Narayanpur Police Station avoided confirming the detention when contacted. The Indian government has also made no official comment so far regarding the presence or arrest of suspects in the Osman Hadi murder case.
Local residents alleged that Bappi and his associates had been concealing their identities by introducing themselves as police personnel.
Earlier on Tuesday, at a press briefing at Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) media centre, Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam said the DB had filed a charge sheet against 17 people in connection with the murder.
According to the DB, Bappi was the main planner and order-giver, while Faisal Karim carried out the shooting with assistance from Alamgir Hossain. All three are believed to have fled to India following the killing.
Osman Hadi, a prominent July revolutionary figure and outspoken critic of Awami League–aligned politics, was shot in public in Dhaka on December 12 and later died while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
PT/ra
