POLICE FIND NO EVIDENCE OF MURDER

Police have found insufficient evidence of murder in the death of Al Mukkabir Islam Arnab, 34, son of former Additional Director General of the Department of Immigration and Passports Rafiqul Islam, and have submitted a final report to the court, prompting his mother to challenge the findings.
Arnab’s bloodstained body was recovered on the afternoon of 2 May this year from the premises of his 11-storey residence in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Police concluded that he had died by suicide after falling from the roof, specifically from atop the lift machine room.
On 31 August, investigating officer Abdul Karim, a sub-inspector at Dhanmondi Police Station, submitted a final report stating that the investigation had found no sufficient evidence to support the murder allegations against the 12 accused.
After learning of the report, Arnab’s mother, Halima Khatun, filed a naraji petition — formally challenging the police findings — with the court on 12 October. She alleged that investigators had deliberately filed the report without questioning key witnesses and had ignored a property dispute that she believes was linked to her son’s death.
Rejecting the allegations, Karim said: “I have mentioned in the report what my investigation found.”

Mother alleges property dispute motivated killing
Halima filed the murder case with a Dhaka court on 21 May, naming 12 people as accused. Before that, Arnab’s sister had filed an unnatural death case with Dhanmondi Police Station.
Among those accused are Arnab’s paternal uncle Osman Ghani, 68, a former police officer; Ghani’s wife, Masuda Begum Maya, 70; another paternal uncle, Zahed Bhuiyan, 72; and his wife, Senuara Begum Renu, 62.
According to the complaint, a bitter dispute had persisted between Arnab and his uncles’ families over property worth around Tk 100 crore left by his father. The accused allegedly obstructed Arnab from possessing, selling or transferring his inherited assets and restricted his freedom of movement and decision-making.
The complaint alleges that, fearing the loss of the property, the accused eventually conspired to kill him. These allegations, however, have not been established in court.

Police cite medical reports, witness statements
Arnab’s parents divorced several years before his death, and his father died in 2017. According to family members and police, Arnab subsequently lived at the family’s Dhanmondi residence, where the family of his paternal uncle Osman Ghani also lived.
After the body was recovered, police, citing accounts from the deceased’s uncle’s family, said Arnab had died after falling from the roof of the building.
In the final report, the investigating officer said he had recorded witness statements and examined the inquest and post-mortem reports, along with video footage.
The post-mortem report attributed the death to hypovolaemic shock resulting from injuries sustained before death. However, the report did not establish that the injuries had been deliberately inflicted by any of the accused.
The investigating officer noted that the medical opinion identified the physical cause of death but did not establish criminal involvement by the accused.

Investigation points to personal circumstances
The final report also referred to Arnab’s family circumstances and behaviour before his death. It said his parents’ separation and prolonged estrangement from his mother had contributed to feelings of loneliness and mental distress.
Statements from relatives and acquaintances reportedly indicated that he had gradually developed a dependence on drugs or other intoxicating substances. Hospital and medical records examined after his death were also cited as evidence of drug use.
According to the report, Arnab often kept to himself and remained inside his flat with the doors and windows shut. He would become agitated when others tried to open them.
The investigating officer concluded that the property dispute alone was insufficient to establish premeditated murder without reliable evidence linking the accused to the death.
After reviewing Arnab’s circumstances, his behaviour before death, the scene and the post-mortem findings, police said they had found no sufficient and reliable evidence to prosecute the 12 accused under Sections 302, 304, 304A and 34 of the Penal Code.
The report concluded that no specific, credible evidence connected the complainant’s account of a killing with the events established during the investigation, and that the allegations in the first information report appeared to have arisen from a mistaken belief. The final report reflects the police investigation’s findings; the mother’s challenge means the allegations remain contested before the court.