The law enforcers and other authorities concerned have failed to locate four out of six of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's assassins in the nine years since the verdict.
The six convicts still at large are Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, M Rashed Chowdhury, SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Abdul Majed and Risaldar Moslemuddin.
Noor currently resides in Canada and Rashed in the US. Sources say there is speculation that Moslehuddin may be in the US but there is no official confirmation, according to sources at the government agencies. However, another source said self-confessed Bangabandhu killer Rashed Chowdhury fled to the US and was granted political asylum. He is currently living in California. Washington officially informed Dhaka of Rashed's status in 2015.
Shahriar Alam State Minister for Foreign Affair indicated that they are probably currently living in Pakistan, a Middle-eastern country and an African country.
Among the remaining four convicts, some initial information suggests Risaldar Moslemuddin has been staying in India, the police official said. Abdur Rashid and Shariful Haque Dalim are reportedly moving between Pakistan and Libya while Abdul Majed is reported to be staying in Senegal. Meanwhile, all are speculation not confirmed.
The negotiations to extradite them home to face the penalty have yet to bear fruit. Bangladesh will observe National Mourning Day on Wednesday to commemorate the killing of Bangabandhu.
Four years after Bangladesh's independence, the Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were brutally killed on August 15 in 1975 by renegade army officers. His daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived because they were abroad at the time.
Bangladesh Police is working with the Interpol to locate of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The National Central Bureau or NCB, the Bangladesh division of Interpol source said the NCB has maintained regular contacts with the countries where the other convicts may be staying, but have not received any particular information about them.
NCB Assistant Inspector General of Police Mahiul Alam said the Home Ministry and the Foreign Ministry have been working on the issue.
After verdict in the Bangabandhu assassination case, five of the 12 killers - Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahariar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin - were hanged on January 27 in 2010. Another, Abdul Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe in 2001.
The initial trial of the assassins of Bangabandhu and his family was stopped through an Indemnity Ordinance which saved the self-proclaimed killers. The ordinance was abrogated in November 1996 when the Awami League returned to power, paving the way to bringing the killers to justice.
But the case proceedings came to a near halt after the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami coalition formed government took power in 2001. The Awami League returned to power in 2009 and restarted the trial.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Law Minister Anisul Huq are taking various initiatives to locate and return the killers to face punishment. Foreign Ministry sources said the government does not have specific information about Dalim and Rashid.
Shahriar Alam State Minister for Foreign Affair on Monday said there has been "significant progress" in bringing the convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman back to Bangladesh. "But we cannot speak more for the sake of the work," Md Shahriar Alam added.
"We have repeatedly asked Pakistan if anyone is there, but they have not responded on this matter," he said.
He sought support from expatiate Bangladeshis to raise the demand for deportation in the countries where they live.
Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said killers of Bangabandhu will be brought back if AL comes to power again. "You will get good news about their extradition soon," he added.
