Efforts on to capture five fugitive Bangabandhu killers

Thirteen years have elapsed since the country completed the trial of the tragic killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on 15 August 1975 but five of the self-confessed killers are yet to be brought back to Bangladesh.

Two of the convicted killers’ whereabouts are known to the law enforcers. They are now living in Canada and USA but they could not be deported to Bangladesh despite the government’s constant efforts.

The government has once again sent emails to multiple countries this year to know the whereabouts of three killers - Col (dismissed) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (relieved) Shariful Haque Dalim and Risaldar Mosleh Uddin Khan.

Of them, Maj (retd) Nur Chowdhury has been living in Canada and Maj (retd) Rashed Chowdhury in the US for a long time.

 Currently the government is trying its best to bring back Rashed Chowdhury from the USA. On 10 August the Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed a report before the parliament narrating its efforts to bring him back.

Rashed with his family members reached the USA in 1996 on tourist visas and he was granted asylum after ten years. But in 2020 the US government reopened the case of asylum of Rashed Chowdhury creating a possibility for his repatriation.

Bringing back Nur Chowdhury has also been stuck for years as Canadian law does not allow deporting any foreign national who is awarded death penalty in his or her country.  

According to National Central Bureau (NCB) of the Police Headquarters in Bangladesh, there are red notices issued against all of the absconding killers.

The Bangladesh office assumed that Dalim is probably now either in Pakistan or in Libya. Khandaker Abdur Rashid is perhaps in Libya or Zimbabwe while Moslemuddin might be in Pakistan.

 According to Interpol data, Abdur Rashid is now 76 years old, Nur Chowdhury 71 years, Dalim 76 years, Rashed 75 years and Muslemuddin 85 years old.

 State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam in February this year told the press that during the US administration of Donald Trump there was progress in facilitating Rashed Chowdhury’s deportation.  

Asked about any progress in bringing back the five absconding killers, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told this newspaper, “There is no progress as of today. We continue to go on with our efforts,” he added without elaborating.  

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, however, at a programme in Chittagong on 5 August said, “Many people involved in Bangabandhu’s murder have been brought under the law.”

Among those who are still absconding, a couple of murderers will be brought back to the country soon, he said.

When asked whether the government has been getting any assistance in bringing the convicts back, Law minister Anisul Haq said, “If there were no assistances, we would not have come this far.”

“We continue discussion. That means we are getting some cooperation,” he said while talking to reporters recently.

Asked about progress in the matter on their part,   Assistant Inspector-General Mohiul Islam of NCB told this newspaper that the Foreign Affairs Ministry looks after the matter mainly.

They contact other countries and coordinate with local government bodies when needed. “Till now they have not informed us about any major development,” he said. 

 Meanwhile, NCB has contacted the Interpol headquarters and Interpol Canada regarding extradition of Nur and Rashed.

Commission to find out conspirators: Law minister

Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Haq, recently said that the government is working to form a commission to find the conspirators involved in the murder of Bangabandhu and his family. It will be finalized by the end of this year hopefully.

“We have completed the outline of the commission. Now it is important to decide on the procedure of the commission,” he said.

After discussing on the outline, it will be sent to the Prime Minister to finalize, he added.

Efforts on to bring back Rashed Chowdhury

 In the report placed before the parliamentary committee on 10 August this year, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC present this issue in all forums and meetings with different levels of political leaders of the United States.

The ministry officials in Dhaka discussed it at various meetings with the US ambassador in Dhaka and high-level officials as well.

This matter came up at the recently held Second Bangladesh-US High Level Economic Dialogue, 8th Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue, 8th Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue, bilateral dialogue between the Foreign Minister and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 4 April this year.

 The Foreign Minister also requested Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to convey the importance of the matter to the US Attorney General.

Recently, a four-member delegation led by the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs visited Washington DC and held meeting with Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas), Congressman

Steve Chabot (Republican-Ohio) and Congressman Dwight Evans (Democrat- Pennsylvania) and met Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu.

At all those meetings, the committee discussed bringing Rashed Chowdhury back to the country.

At the meeting, Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) asked for detailed information to review the case. In the meantime, the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington has provided this information.

Congressman Steve Chabot (Republican-Ohio), ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia-Pacific, Central Asia and Non-Proliferation, said he is also a member of the House Committee on Judiciary and that he will raise the issue of extraditing Bangabandhu’s self-confessed killer Rashed Chowdhury, the report said.

 Test Ambassador Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, said he would speak to the Department of Justice on the matter.  

On 19 November 2009, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld death penalty for 12 former army officers for the brutal killings.

So far six killers - Syed Farooq Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed and Abdul Majed – have been executed.

Another convict Aziz Pasha met a natural death in Zimbabwe in 2001.

Bangabandhu and most of his family members were brutally killed by some disgruntled army men on the fateful night of August 15, 1975 and this carnage is touted as the ugliest chapter of the nation’s history. Father of the Nation’s two daughters Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister, and Sheikh Rehana escaped the planned assassination as they were staying abroad.