Informers on Bangabandhu’s fugitive killers to be rewarded: Momen

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said the government will reward those who will provide correct information about the location of traceless three fugitive killers of Bangabandhu.   

"I urge all expatriate Bangladeshis to give us information about them (the convicted killers) if you have any.… If your information is correct, we will reward you," he said while speaking to the media after placing a wreath at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Corner of the foreign ministry Sunday morning.

The foreign minister was accompanied by State Minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen.

The government has thus far traced out Bangabandhu's two convicted fugitive killers – Rashed Chowdhury and Noor Chowdhury – residing in the USA and Canada, respectively, while the whereabouts of other three fugitives – Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, and Moslehuddin Khan – are yet to be ascertained.

After tracing the locations of the two killers, the Foreign Ministry and the Law Ministry have been deeply engaged with the US and the Canadian authorities to bring them back home to implement the court verdict.

"But we don't know the whereabouts of the other three (convicted killers)…. We understand they have been moving from one country to another with different passports," Dr Momen said.

He said the foreign ministry had sent letters previously to all missions abroad as part of the campaign to hunt down the fugitive killers of the Father of the Nation.

The foreign minister urged expatriate Bangladeshis to keep a vigil on suspected locations of the killers alongside the Bangladesh missions in their respective host countries.

About Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury, Dr Momen urged Bangladeshis living in the USA and Canada to mount community pressure on the authorities there for their repatriation by launching a signature campaign, supplementing the government efforts for their extradition.

He expressed hope about Rashed Chowdhury's extradition since the convicted killer had provided false information to the US authorities and now his immigration case is being reviewed there.

Momen urged Bangladeshi expatriates to hold demonstrations in front of the residences of the identified fugitive killers in their respective countries to let their neighbourhood know that a murderer is living beside them.

The foreign minister also called upon the Bangladeshi expatriates in Canada to mount pressure on the Canadian authorities by telling them that Canada cannot be a protector of murderers.

On Friday, Dr Momen told the state news agency BSS in an interview that Dhaka had activated its missions abroad to confirm fugitive August 15 carnage assassins' locations in countries where they are presumed to have hidden, in line with primary intelligence reports.

"Particular Bangladesh missions abroad, where they (fugitives) are assumed to be hiding, have been asked to keep close contacts with security and intelligence agencies of the host countries to track them down on the basis of our lead information," he said.

 A total of 12 sacked military officers were sentenced to death after a protracted trial process while six were executed by now and one died a natural death abroad. 

Three of the six executed assassins were brought back from three countries – Thailand, the United States and India – after their trial in absentia.

Security agencies earlier said their reports suggest some of them might be changing their locations from one country to another as Interpol had issued "red notice" to track them down. 

A police headquarter official said one of the masterminds of the carnage sacked lieutenant colonel Abdur Rashid was reported to have taken clandestine refuge in an African country.

Previous reports speculated some others could be hiding in Pakistan, Libya, Zimbabwe, Spain and Germany.  

In October last year, the government formed a special squad comprising members from different intelligence and law enforcement agencies headed by the police's Special Branch chief, an additional inspector general of police to track down the absconder 1975 killers.

The foreign Minister, state minister for foreign affairs and foreign secretary also planted three saplings separately on the premises of the ministry marking the National mourning day.