DNA analysis has confirmed that the flesh and bones recovered by the West Bengal police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during their investigation into the murder of Bangladeshi MP Md Anwarul Azim (Anar) belonged to the slain lawmaker, Hindustan Times reports.
According to investigators, Anwarul was allegedly murdered in a flat in Kolkata's New Town on May 13.
His body was skinned, dismembered, and chopped. Officers said that the flesh was flushed down the commode, while the bones were dumped along the banks of a canal.
The three-time Awami League MP from Jhenaidah arrived in West Bengal on May 12 and went missing the following day, prompting joint investigations by police in both Bangladesh and West Bengal. By May 22, authorities confirmed that he had been murdered.
On May 28, the CID and Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch recovered several kilos of flesh from the septic tank of an apartment in North 24 Parganas, which were sent for forensic analysis. Subsequently, bones were recovered from a canal bank in South 24 Parganas on June 9.
"DNA reports have confirmed that the flesh and bones, which were recovered from the banks of a canal and the flat, are that of the Bangladesh MP," a senior CID official is quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
To aid the investigation, the CID collected DNA samples from Anwarul's daughter, Mumtarin Ferdous Doreen, who travelled to Kolkata in November. The samples were analysed at a Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
Detective police in Dhaka have arrested at least seven suspects in connection with the case so far, while the CID has apprehended two accused individuals. However, the alleged mastermind behind the murder, Aktaruzzaman Shahin, remains at large.
Shahin was a long-term business associate of Anwarul and is believed to be in the US, according to the investigation. The Bangladesh police have sought assistance from Interpol, added the officer.
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