Dhaka: Bangladesh has stepped up
"diplomatic contacts" to bring back the fugitives involved in
the assassination of the country's founding leader Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, Law minister Shafique Ahmed said on Monday.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been maintaining
diplomatic contacts with the concerned countries to bring back
the fugitives to Bangladesh," Ahmed was quoted as saying by
the state-run BSS news agency.
Ahmed confirmed that one of the two men who shot
Bangabandhu, sacked lieutenant colonel Noor Chowdhury took
refuge in Canada and was fighting a legal battle to stay back
to evade justice.
"His case is still pending with a Canadian Court but
he is likely to lose the battle. We (Bangladesh) have
appointed a law firm there to secure his repatriation," the
minister said.
The other man involved in the assassination was
ex-major Bazlul Huda who had been executed along with four
others last year.
Ahmed, however, declined to disclose where the three
other absconding putsch leaders were hiding for "technical
reasons".
Dhaka two months ago asked India to track down and
return two of the convicted killers as they were believed to
be hiding in the country.
However, India has sought more information on their
whereabouts.
A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity,
earlier told PTI that among the fugitives, ex-lieutenant
colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid was hiding in Libya.
Shariful Haque Dalim was staying in Kenya, Rashed
Chowdhury was in the United States and ex-captain Abdul Majed
and Risaldar Moslehuddin were staying in India.
Interpol in July last year held a special meeting with
representatives of member countries at its headquarters at
Leon in France where the international police organisation
launched a special campaign to track down high-profile
fugitives of different countries under a drive called
"operation Infra Red".
Thailand had returned Huda in 1998 after Dhaka and
Bangkok signed an extradition treaty while the United States
returned Mohiuddin Ahmed (lancer) during the past
military-backed caretaker government in 2007 after he failed
to obtain a federal court order there to stay back.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also daughter of
Bangabandhu, earlier promised to bring back the six convicted
killers.
Bangabandhu was killed along with most of his family
members in a coup on August 15,1975 while Hasina and her
younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived the putsch as they were
outside Bangladesh at that time.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 14, 2011, 20:59