Govt to confiscate assets of Mujib killers soon

The government is set to confiscate the assets and freeze the bank accounts of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman within a month or two, sources told the Daily Observer.
"We have taken necessary measures to confiscate the assets and freeze the bank accounts of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the Parliament recently.
The parliament passed the motion to confiscate all assets of the killers in September 2016.
Meanwhile, the ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuing its diplomatic efforts to bring back the six convicted killers of Bangabandhu from abroad.
"Our diplomatic efforts are on as this is one of our top priority assignments," State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam said.
"We have appointed lawyers in US and Canada to extradite the fugitive convicts and forwarded their details to Interpol and all major airports across the world," he added.
The Foreign Ministry is hopeful of bringing back the six fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman now hiding abroad.
The ministry has taken the issue as its first priority, said Shahriar.
The fugitive killers are Khandakar Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, Noor Chowdhury, Moslehuddin Khan, Abdul Mazed and M Rashed Chowdhury. People of the country are demanding their return and execution as soon as possible.
Bangabandhu along with most of his family members and relatives was assassinated by a group of disgruntled military men at his Dhanmondi residence on August 15 in 1975.  The killing set the stage for decades of military rule when the killers had enjoyed diplomatic privileges and political rehabilitation.
Shahriar told the Daily Observer on Saturday that they were making "every diplomatic effort with the countries where the killers are hiding and to bring them back to face death penalty."
Shahriar said every country has some laws on deportation and they are trying to persuade, without naming any specific country, "both diplomatically and politically" to bring them back. "We hope that at least one of them (from US and Canada) will be brought back during our tenure," he said.      
Intelligence sources told this correspondent that M Rashed Chowdhury is living in US and many believe that Moslehuddin Khan is also hiding in the country (US). Noor Chowdhury is in Canada and Shariful Haque Dalim is believed to be hiding in US. Soon after the killing, both Rashid and Faruk (executed) were living in Libya as "VIP Guests" of the then Libyan strongman Col Gaddafi.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had earlier said condemned convicts Lt Col (sacked) Khandakar Abdur Rashid has been hiding in Pakistan or Libya, Maj (sacked) Shariful Haque in Pakistan or Libya or Zimbabwe, Maj (sacked) Abu Mohammad Rashed Chowdhury in US, Maj (sacked) SHMB Noor Chowdhury in Canada, Capt (sacked) Abdul Majed in Senegal (Dakar) and Risaldar (sacked) Mosleh Uddin in India.
The Foreign Ministry source said one of the killers of Bangabandhu was refused political asylum in one country but due to complexity over death penalty, it was a big challenge to bring him back. Noor Chowdhury was denied political asylum in Canada but the country refused to send him back due to the county's stand against death penalty.
Of the 12 condemned convicts, five were executed on January 28 in 2010, one died abroad and six are absconding. The convicts hanged were Syed Faruk Rahman, Sultan Shahariar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin. Another, Abdul Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe.
Among the six fugitive killers, more than one is reportedly staying in the USA, one in Canada and other three killers' whereabouts are still unknown.
Information along with photographs of the fugitive killers has already been sent to important airports of the world through the Interpol to determine the whereabouts of the killers, the source he added.
The Home Minister said the government has kept contact with the United States and Canada to bring back Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury. Besides, the countries concerned were requested not to give the convicts citizenship.
Shahriar went on saying that one of the convicted killers got political asylum in a country and the government is engaged in the process to cancel his asylum.
"Another convicted killer's application seeking political asylum was rejected in a country which is opposed to death penalty," he continued.
In reply to a query, he urged those, who raise question on timeframe of bringing back the killers, to study more on the whole issue.