Orphans end Eid in tears: Police warn of a massive operation to catch accused
Although 24 days have passed since the murder of social worker Fazal Mia (50) for protesting the looting of the sacred funds of the Chhatke Mosque in Sunamganj, a border town of Sylhet, the two main accused in the case are still at large.
The police have already arrested two others, including the main accused in this sensational murder case, Masuk. However, Harun and Nur, who were accused of hitting the deceased on the chest with a spear (sulfi) and ensuring his death by stabbing him, are still absconding. Although they have hidden themselves from the police, it has been alleged that they are planning to file a fabricated counter-case to harass the family of the deceased and the witnesses in the case. This has caused intense anger and insecurity among the family of the deceased and the local people.
While there was a flood of joy all around on the just-concluded Eid, there was only mourning in the house of the deceased Fazal Mia in the old Noaakut village. Fazal Mia’s three daughters, two sons and wife spent Eid in tears after losing their father. Instead of joy and celebration, the family is in mourning. Locals said that they cannot hold back their tears when looking at these fatherless and ignorant orphans. However, those accused of this brutal murder are still at large.
It is known from the case file and investigation that the accused in Fazal Mia’s murder have a record of serious crimes in the past. According to several local sources, accused Harun Mia was sentenced to 10 years in a robbery case (Case No. 09) of Companiganj Police Station in 2005, which is currently suspended (stayed) by the High Court. On the other hand, accused No. 3, Nurai Mia, was also an accused in the sensational Zamir Ali murder case (Case No. 08) of 2001, which was later settled through a compromise.
Locals allege that the accused, who had settled a murder case in the past, are now trying to force the victim’s family to settle by filing a counter-case after Fazal’s murder.
Despite such a serious record of past crimes, questions have been raised about how the main accused have been out of the police’s reach for 24 days.
It is worth noting that on the morning of February 28, Masuk and his associates were accused of publicly hacking Fazal Mia to death for protesting the embezzlement of Tk 5 lakh from the Old Noaquat Jama Masjid. In this incident, the deceased’s brother Altab Hossain filed a murder case with Chhatak Police Station, naming 46 people as the plaintiff.
On March 10, villagers formed a huge human chain in front of the BGB camp in Chhonbari Bazar, demanding the arrest and hanging of the murderers.
Kacha Mia, a prominent elder of Puran Noakout village, expressed his disappointment over the orphans’ cries, saying, “We could not look after the orphaned children on Eid. But the accused are still beyond the reach of the police.”
Abdul Jabbar Khokon, a senior elder of Gangpar Noakout village, complained, “Nuri is already an accused in a murder case. And Harun is a convicted accused in a robbery case. He has left the case ‘stayed’ by the High Court and has been roaming around the area bragging and committing this heinous incident.”
Moyna Mia, a ward member concerned, expressed her anger and said, “The counter-case of looting that the accused are trying to file in the name of the victim’s family to save themselves is completely false and fabricated. No such looting incident took place in the area on the day of the incident.”
In this regard, Advocate Sufi Alam Suhel, Chairman of Islampur Union Parishad No. 1, said, “Fazal Mia was killed to protect the sacred money of the mosque. There are serious criminal charges against the accused before. Now, to cover up their crimes, they are trying to harass the witnesses of the case by filing a counter case. This false case is being fabricated to cause extreme financial and mental suffering to the main plaintiff and the family of the deceased.”
Although the police operation has raised questions in the public mind due to the failure to arrest the main accused even after 24 long days, the police administration has issued a stern warning to arrest the accused.
The investigation officer (IO) of the Fazal murder case, SI Abdur Rahim, told the reporter, “We have arrested Masuk and Qadir, one of the accused in the case. We are making every effort to arrest the other accused who are hiding. With the help of information technology, their location will be identified and brought under the law very soon.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of Chhatak Police Station, Md. Mizanur Rahman, told the reporter, “We are continuing the eighty-sixth drive to arrest the absconding accused using multiple teams and various sources. We hope they will be arrested very soon.”
When attention was drawn to the harassment case filed by the accused, the OC said, “No copy of the counter-case has reached us yet, if anything like this is found, we will verify and take action according to the law.”
