Govt ‘knows Bachchu’s location’

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir has said the government has information on the whereabouts of former Jamaat-e-Islami member Abul Kalam Azad, also known as Bachchu Razakar, the first war crimes accused convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal-2.

Responding to queries from journalists after inaugurating the Police Week-2013 at Rajarbag Police Lines ground in the capital on Tuesday, Alamgir said: “Fugitive Bachchu Razakar is staying in a certain country. He will be brought back through diplomatic communications with that country.”

The Home Minister, however, did not specifically name any country where according to him Azad is hiding.

“We (Bangladesh) are a member of the Interpol. So, you’ll be able to know the name of that country when he is brought back here.”

On Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 in its maiden verdict handed down death penalty to Azad who was tried in absentia for his involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the War of Liberation in 1971.

The tribunal had issued an arrest warrant against Azad on April 3.

Despite intelligence watch, the Muslim cleric formerly tied to the fundamentalist party Jamaat-e-Islami left Dhaka on Mar 30.

He fled to India through Hili border in northern district of Dinajpur on Apr 2 night on his way to Pakistan to avoid arrest and prosecution, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) told media on Apr 9 last year quoting his detained sons.

But police has not said anything about his whereabouts until now.

Asked about Azad’s location, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hasan Mahmud Khandaker told reporters that he would refrain from commenting on the whereabouts for ‘tactical reasons’.

The elite crime bustling force RAB is also ‘not sure’ whether the former Jamaat-e-Islami activist is staying in the country or abroad.

“We are looking for Bachchu Razakar. If his location is found to be in Bangladesh, the RAB will conduct operations to nab him,” RAB Director General Mokhlesur Rahman said on Sunday.bdnews24.com

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