2 arrested in Meghalaya after prime accused Faisal, associate flee to India: DMP

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has said that the prime accused in the murder case of Sharif Osman Hadi and his associate have fled to India.

Two Indian nationals assisted them in fleeing, and the Meghalaya Police have arrested those two Indian citizens.

The DMP identified the two arrested individuals—accused of helping the two suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and his associate Alamgir Sheikh, escape to India—as Purnti and Sami.

Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam disclosed the information at a press conference held at the DMP Media Centre on Sunday.

At the press conference, Nazrul Islam said the murder of Hadi was premeditated. After the incident, Faisal and Alamgir traveled from Dhaka to Aminbazar in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. From there, they went by car to Kalampur, and then took another vehicle from Kalampur to the Mymensingh border. At the border, Faisal and Alamgir were received by Philip Pal and Sanjay, who illegally smuggle people across the border. Philip later took the two to the Indian state of Meghalaya.

The additional commissioner further said that Philip took Faisal and Alamgir to a place called Tura in India, where he handed them over to an Indian national named Purti. They later fled from there in a vehicle driven by a man named Sami.

The police official also said that so far 11 people have been arrested in connection with the Hadi murder. Of them, six have given confessional statements before a court under Section 164, and four witnesses have also given confessional statements in court.

The DMP said at the press conference that the investigation into the Hadi murder case is in its final stage and that the charge sheet will be submitted within the next seven to ten days.

At the press conference, Additional Commissioner of the Metropolitan Detective Branch Shafiqul Islam told journalists that many of those behind the killing have been identified, though not all names can be disclosed in the interest of the investigation. Based on the information obtained so far, the killing appears to have been politically motivated.