Mitu murder: PBI sent letter to UNHCR asking about Gayatri

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), the investigating agency of the case filed for the murder of Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, wife of former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akhtar, has written to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) seeking details about its former field officer Gayatri Amar Singh, who is said to have been the alleged lover of the accused police officer.

The letter was sent to UNHCR Bangladesh Representative Steven Korlis on Sunday by PBI Chattogram Metro Area Inspector, Santosh Kumar Chakma.

Confirming the matter, Santosh Kumar Chakma told The Business Standard (TBS), "While investigating the case, we came to know about Babul Akhtar's extramarital affair with Gayatri who used to work in Cox's Bazar as a field officer for the UNHCR. She will be questioned about the case. A letter has been sent to the UNHCR Dhaka office seeking details about her whereabouts and other details."

In the case, Babul Akhter's father-in-law Mosharraf Hossain alleged that when Babul was working as an additional SP in Cox's Bazar district in 2013, he fell in love with Gayatri. Upon learning of the matter, his wife Mitu became extremely upset.

Babul used to torture her physically and mentally at different times as she protested against the affair. Babul was on a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan from July 2014 to June 2015. At that time Babul's mobile phone was at his home in Chattogram and Gayatri sent 29 SMSs to the mobile phone, according to Mosharraf Hossain.

When Babul was in training, Gayatri had also sent two books as gifts to his house a few months before Mitu was killed. The two books were "Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia", a historical book written by Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, and "Best Kept Secret" by Jeffrey Archer.

On page 3 of the book Taliban, Gayatri wrote, "This is a gift for you to keep our good memories intact. Hopefully, this gift will perpetuate our bond. I love you, Gayatri."

On the last page of the book, Babul Akhter wrote about their first meeting, the memories of when they first started working together and became intimate, spending time in the Mermaid Hotel, praying at Ramu Temple, roaming around in Ramu's rubber garden and walking by the sea at night in Chakaria.

On page-2 of the book Best Kept Secret, Gayatri wrote "Your love Gayatri".

MEMORIALS OF THEIR LOVE TO BE SENT TO FORENSIC EXAMINATION

PBI inspector Santosh Kumar told The Business Standard, "The two books are evidence of the extramarital affair and will be sent to the Criminal Investigation Department for forensic examination where graphologists will examine the handwriting to determine whether Babul Akhtar and Gayatri themselves wrote those."

"We are now fully convinced that Babul Akhtar was involved in the murder. We have found financial transactions regarding the matter too, which his business friends have also admitted in court. Babul even agreed to testify to his involvement in the murder in remand, which he denied in court," he added.

"So, we have decided to present the evidence more strongly. We are trying to find out whether Mitu was killed only because of extramarital affairs or there are other reasons behind it," he added.

On the morning of 5 June 2016, Mitu was shot and stabbed on R Nizam Road of Chattogram city near her home on the way to get her son to the school bus. Babul Akhter filed a murder case with the police station.

Later, Babul was sacked in August of that year after interrogation at the intelligence office.

In 2017, Mitu's father started suspecting that Babul was involved in the murder, saying that what Babul had done since the murder was nothing but pretension.

In January 2020, the PBI was assigned to investigate the case.

On 11 May, the PBI interrogated Babul Akhter in custody and found his involvement in the case. It submitted a 575-page final report of the case to the court on 12 May.

On the same day (12 May), Mitu's father Mosharraf Hossain filed a murder case with Panchlaish Police Station accusing eight people, including Babul Akhter.

The PBI has remanded Babul in custody in the case.