Arrest of Josef, Haris, Anis demanded

Two former councillors of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Sunday demanded the arrest of three brothers of former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed. The three are – Tofail Ahmed alias Josef, Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed. The councillors alleged that they were arrested at the instigation of the three brothers.

Former DNCC councillors Tarequzzaman Razib of ward no. 33 and Habibur Rahman Mizan of ward no. 32, from capital’s Mohammadpur area placed the demand at a press conference in Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).

These two councillors, who claimed to be involved in the politics of ruling Awami League, alleged that they both were arrested in October 2019 while they were in office, and they were released from jail on bail after nearly three years.

Tarequzzaman Razib alleged he had been arrested in a planned way to ensure the victory of another councillor candidate Asif Ahmed, who is son of Anis Ahmed, and nephew of Josef and Haris Ahmed. “At present, my family and I have been facing threat from this terror group and I also fear for my life.”

Asif Ahmed who is an incumbent councillor of ward no. 33 of DNCC declined to comment.

On the other hand, former councillor Habibur Rahman said he was arrested directly at the behest of an influential person and top terror Joseph, Haris and Anis.

Claiming that the arms the law enforcement recovered during his arrest, Habibur Rahman also said, “I have surrendered my modern firearm in 2018 and I was arrested in 2019. So, why would I keep a broken firearm instead of a modern gun?”

“I am a former general secretary of Awami League’s Mohammadpur thana unit but I was labelled as ‘Pagla Mizan’ and arrested,” he added.

Mentioning that they have family feud for long with the families of Josef, Haris and Anis, Habibur Rahman said his brother Mostafizur Rahman was shot to death in Mohammadpur on 7 May 1996. Then top terror Tofail Ahmed alias Josef was sentenced to death for killing Mostafizur Rahman. The High Court upheld the trial court's verdict.

Later, the Appellate Division commuted the punishment to life in jail but Josef was released from prions after getting presidential clemency. His brother Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed were also sentenced to life in prison in this case, Habibur Rahman added.

When asked, Habibur Rahman declined to take the name of the influential person. "Though I wanted to take his name, I cannot do so fearing the security of my family," he added.