Two suspects involved in the attack on Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, changed vehicles five times while travelling from Dhaka to the Bangladesh-India border.
They also replaced the motorcycle’s registration number plate with a fake one and discarded their mobile phones and SIM cards.
These details were obtained from sources involved in the investigation. According to the sources, the two suspects fled to India through the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh.
Last Friday, miscreants shot Hadi from a moving motorcycle while he was travelling in a rickshaw in the capital’s Purana Paltan area. Hadi is a possible parliamentary candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency and the convener of Inqilab Moncho.
Hadi’s condition remains critical. He was taken to Singapore on Monday for advanced medical treatment.
Three young men arrived and took the two suspects on motorcycles to Bhutiapara in Haluaghat. At around 2:30 am, they crossed the Bhutiapara border into India.
In connection with the attempted murder, a case was filed Sunday night at Paltan police station by Abdullah Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Moncho.
Faisal and several unidentified persons were named as accused. The case was later handed over to the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Harun Or Rashid, deputy commissioner of police in the Motijheel division, told Prothom Alo that the case also includes charges against those who planned the attack and financed or supported it.
Police say Faisal was a member of the central committee of the now-banned Chhatra League and a joint general secretary of Dhaka City North Chhatra League. Alamgir was involved in Jubo League politics.
So far, six people have been arrested in connection with the attack on Hadi. They are Faisal’s wife Saheda Parvin Samia, his brother-in-law Wahid Ahmed Sipu, Faisal’s friend Maria Akter Lima, suspected owner of the motorcycle Abdul Hannan, and Sanjay Chisim and Simiron Dio, accused of assisting the suspects in fleeing to India. Samia, Sipu and Maria were placed on five-day remand yesterday.
Faisal Karim’s associate arrested
Meanwhile, RAB arrested Md Kabir, an associate of the main suspect Faisal Karim Masud, from Narayanganj on Sunday night. RAB disclosed the arrest on Monday.
Police questioned the auto-rickshaw driver, who told investigators that a young woman (Faisal’s friend Maria) was waiting at Amin Bazar with a vehicle for Faisal and Alamgir.
According to RAB, Kabir had visited the Inqilab Cultural Centre, founded by Hadi in Banglamotor area of Dhaka, with Masud a few days before the attack.
The FIR in the attempted murder case states that Hadi had been regularly delivering speeches and analysis demanding a ban on the Awami League over allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity. As a result, he had received multiple death threats.
The Motijheel division of the DB is investigating the case. Investigators say Faisal and Alamgir Sheikh were directly involved in the attempted killing, but police have yet to confirm who was behind the attack. Hadi’s mobile phone has not yet been recovered.
Motorcycle’s number plate changed
Sources related to the investigation say Faisal and Alamgir stayed at Green Zone Resort in Savar on 11 December, the night before the attack. Around 2:00 am, Faisal’s friend Maria arrived there with her younger sister. They talked there. Maria has said that her relationship with Faisal was a friendly one.
On the morning of 12 December, Faisal and Alamgir travelled from Savar to Dhaka on a motorcycle, claim investigation sources. They then went to Faisal’s sister’s house in Agargaon, where they changed the motorcycle’s number plate in the garage. After staying there for some time, they took an auto-rickshaw to Amin Bazar.
At Amin Bazar, Faisal and Alamgir discarded their mobile phones and SIM cards. From there, they travelled via Kalampur along the Tangail–Mymensingh highway to Mymensingh. From a bridge area in Mymensingh, they switched to another vehicle and headed towards Haluaghat.
Police questioned the auto-rickshaw driver, who told investigators that a young woman (Faisal’s friend Maria) was waiting at Amin Bazar with a vehicle for Faisal and Alamgir.
At Amin Bazar, Faisal and Alamgir discarded their mobile phones and SIM cards. From there, they travelled via Kalampur along the Tangail–Mymensingh highway to Mymensingh. From a bridge area in Mymensingh, they switched to another vehicle and headed towards Haluaghat.
The private car stopped at a petrol pump in Dharabazar, Haluaghat. Then three young men arrived and took the two suspects on motorcycles to Bhutiapara in Haluaghat. At around 2:30 am, they crossed the Bhutiapara border into India.
Nonetheless, at a press conference held Monday morning at the headquarters of the 39 BGB sector in Mymensingh, Commander Sarkar Mostafizur Rahman said they were not yet certain whether those involved in the shooting had fled through the Haluaghat border.
Meanwhile, investigation sources say the motorcycle used in the attack has been recovered, along with both the fake and original number plates. Police are now trying to identify the motorcycle’s actual owner.
Abdul Hannan, who was arrested by RAB on suspicion of being the owner, told the court on Sunday that the truth would emerge if he were taken to the motorcycle dealership, claiming he had sold the motorcycle long ago.