Nur Hossain caught, remanded in India

Runaway Nur Hossain, the prime suspect in Narayanganj seven murders, who was arrested on Sunday night in Kolkata, was Sunday taken on an eight-day remand by Pashchimbanga police for interrogation, officials said in Dhaka.        

Meanwhile, the government began the process of bringing back Nur and his two sidekicks, who were also arrested and remanded along with him, under the extradition treaty signed with India recently.       

Edwin Lepcha, the second judicial magistrate in the North 24 Parganas district court in the Indian state, placed the fugitive trio on remand.

They have been booked under the Arms Act and the Foreigners Act for "trespass into Indian territories without valid travel documents" and for illegal possession of a firearm, reports reaching in Dhaka said.

The magistrate was quoted as saying: "There is a prima facie case against Nur Hossain on the charges registered by police. So the remand request of the police to facilitate interrogation is allowed."

A ward councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation and local Awami League leader, Hossain is the prime accused in the case of daylight abduction and murder of seven people, including another NCC councillor, Nazrul Islam.

State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told newsmen at his secretariat office that the government began the process of bringing back Nur Hossain.

Hossain and his two aides -- Zahidul Zaman and Selim Bidhan-were arrested by a team from the Special Task Force of the West Bengal police from Baguiati, not far from Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, late on Saturday night.

The law-enforcers also recovered a firearm, several mobile SIM cards, and a laptop during the raid.

Nur Hossain reportedly fled the country around two days after the abduction of the seven people, including Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar, on April 27. It is believed that Nur Hossain with the help of some RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) officials kidnapped the seven.

Three days later, six decomposed bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya. The other body was recovered from the river the following day.

The horrendous finds sparked off violent protests. Hossain has been made prime accused in the case filed by Nazrul's wife, Selina Islam, in connection with the abduction and killing.

Responding to a question as regards possible complexities, if any, in initiating the extradition process, the state minister said the government would be able to bring back Nur Hossain without any difficulty as there is an extradition treaty with India.

He mentioned that several criminals had already been exchanged under the treaty over the last few years. "But, it will take some time," he said. The minister, however, did not go into details of the matter.

Earlier on May 22, Bangladesh sought assistance of the Interpol in tracking down Nur Hossain. The police administration also requested its Indian counterpart to check out reports that Hossain escaped to Kolkata immediate after the killings.