Main suspect Matin Chowdhury declines involvement in killing

He declined it at a press conference at Sylhet Press Club on Saturday.

Chowdhury has been freed on bail.

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In a written statement he claimed that the litigation which he had with late Mokhlisur Rahman ended long ago. He also said that police during filing of the case told about a dispute over land between him and Rahman.

It is not correct, he claimed. He, without naming anybody, also alleged that an organised group of people was playing foul implicating himself in the case. He also alleged that police harassed his two minor sons and his driver after the murder.

Police took them into custody in name of interrogation. An organised group of criminals were behind the conspiracy against him for a long time, he alleged.

However, he declined to give the identity of the group while demanding a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Abdul Matin Chowdhury was absconding since the broad day light killing of Mukhlisur Rahman in his business firm on October 6. Chowdhury appeared before a High Court bench on October 18 and got ad interim bail on October 25.

The High Court asked him to appear before the district Judge court within four weeks to seek bail. At the same time, the High Court also asked police not to harass him.

Accordingly, Matin Chowdhury appeared before the District Judge Court on November 22, when the court granted him ad interim bail as the Public Prosecutor did not raise any objection regarding the bail.

Meantime, family members of Mokhlisur Rahman alleged death threats from Chowdhury and demanded his immediate arrest.

Rahman's wife Nazma Begum gave press statement in the last week of November while her son Abul Hasan Mohammad Ashraf alleged that since granting of his bail Chowdhury had been threatening their family members. He also lodged a General Diary with Sylhet Kotwali Police Station on November 23 stating the threats.

The Investigatig Officer of the murder case, Sub Inspector Fazlul Haque Shibli also applied to the Judge court for cancellation of Chowdhury's bail for the safety of Mokhlisur Rahman's family members.

Matin Chowdhury appealed for permanent bail in the judge court on December 1. But, the court set December 4 for hearing of the matter while asking police for submitting the case diary before the court.

Accordingly it was done, but the hearing could not be held, as the PP was absent. However, an APP was present.

Mokhlisur Rahman's wife Nazma Begum has termed Matin Chowdhury as the main architect of her husband's killing and demanded his immediate arrest. She alleged that all the family members got worried due to continuous threats from Chowdhury and his men.