Damaged smartwatch key serves investigation into Bangladeshi politician's murder

Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary reviews tactical and operational preparedness during a visit to the India-Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas district. | Image Credit: PTI

A damaged smartwatch found on the body of senior Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan “Panna” could provide investigators with important clues into the Bangladeshi politician's murder, a senior government official said. The Hindu.

His body was found on August 26 in a betel nut plantation in the East Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya, about 1.5 km from the Bangladesh border.

India will continue to investigate the murder case and share the findings with Bangladeshi authorities if required, the official said.

“He was strangled and a case of murder was registered. The smartwatch was sent for forensic examination. We could not turn it on. We identified him using the passport that the deceased was carrying,” said a police official, who wished to remain anonymous.

The police officer added that there was no electricity supply at the location where the body was found and that the crime scene was disturbed as it was raining that day.

There are outbreaks of violence

After Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled to India, violence broke out in the neighboring country. In several cases, members of the Hindu community, temples and shops were targeted.

Several leading figures of Hasina's Awami League have been killed or arrested or attempted to flee the country since August 5.

Commenting on the circumstances of Mr Khan's killing, the official said it was suspected that he was trying to flee Bangladesh and was carrying a large amount of cash, but no cash was found near his body.

“It is possible that he was killed at the border and his body dumped in India. There are many plantations in the area where the body was found,” the official said.

The official said the smartwatch would help trace the deceased's footsteps before he was killed.

“He was reportedly with a judge who wanted to come to India from Bangladesh. However, the judge was detained by the Bangladesh border guards,” the official said.

The BGB had earlier said it had arrested former Supreme Court Chief Appellate Judge Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik on August 24 while he was trying to enter India through the Sylhet-Kanaighat border along Meghalaya.

Mr Khan's body was handed over to Bangladesh on August 31 along with the autopsy report.

The BSF, stationed along the 4,096-km-long border with Bangladesh, are on heightened alert following the ouster of Mrs Hasina.