ACCORDING to Indian media reports, a district magistrate court at Barasat in West Bengal of India on Saturday remanded Nur Hossain – prime accused of Narayanganj seven murder and two of his associates in police custody for eight days after their arrest in Kolkata. An anti-terrorism squad of the Kolkata police arrested Nur Hossain and his two aides at Indraprastha apartment complex in Koikhali area on Saturday night.The police seized several mobile SIM cards and a laptop during the raid, according to Indian media reports. During the remand hearing, Nur told the court that he was trapped and sought justice. The Indian media reported that Nur Hossain was arrested under Arms Act and Foreigners Act for trespassing into Indian Union’s Territory without valid travel documents.However, it is astonishing that the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata was still waiting for Indian officials to inform them about the arrest till Sunday afternoon, the officials said. In such a sensitive case like this one, why the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission did not contact the authorities themselves is not clear as of yet. The officials said, Deputy High Commission would seek consular access to the accused according to the instruction of the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka. However, the State Minister of Home Affairs, without giving further details, said the authorities were trying to confirm through diplomatic channels whatever information they had from various sources about the arrest.But, the families of the victims staged demonstrations demanding that the government bring back the accused without delay. Hundreds of people in Siddhirganj brought out a procession demanding justice. One of the leading campaigners for justice, Shakhawat Hossain Khan, also the Narayanganj Bar Association President, smelt a rat after hearing that Nur had been remanded in police custody in India. He said, he suspected that the accused had been remanded for delaying the process of their repatriation. The issue deserves more serious consideration than delay in prosecution. Though they may have violated immigration law of India but when they are wanted by Bangladesh government in connection with grave criminal charges, the first responsibility of Indian authorities was to extradite those citizens of Bangladesh.As per the extradition regulations and Interpol rule they should have been extradited immediately. Our government finds nothing wrong that India also started criminal investigation against Nur Hossain and his associates. We find this as a violation of extradition arrangement and not showing enough consideration for sensivities in the relationship between the two countries.
