No headway in 45 days

One and a half months have passed since Anjali Devi, a senior teacher of Chittagong Nursing College (CNC), was hacked to death in broad daylight in Chittagong city, but police are yet to find any lead, let alone arrest any suspect.

Police making no headway in 45 days has put family members and colleagues in panic, and they questioned the sincerity of the law enforcers.

"Anjali was a very modest and good woman. If a woman like her is murdered with such brutality in broad daylight, then what is the state of the security of the general people?" asked Romena Akter, a teacher at CNC.

Four masked men attacked the 57-year-old on Telipatti Road of Chawkbazar around 8:45am, and left in a couple of minutes without taking any valuables like mobile phone, handbag or money from her.

The Detective Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), which is investigating the murder case, is yet to even guess why she was murdered and by whom.

The murder scene was around 200 yards off Chawkbazar Police Station.

Anjali died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) around 12:00noon.

Anjali's elder daughter, Dr Arpita Chowdhury, a medical intern at CMCH, still wonders why her mother would be attacked at all. "Mother was a very modest woman," she said, shocked at the brutality she suffered at the hands of the killers.

About the probe, she said, "Police talked to me around one month before and they did not contact me thereafter.... We are frustrated as no criminal has been arrested yet."

The victim's younger daughter is a final-year student at Dhaka Medical College.

Colleagues and students have staged several demonstrations, in which they doubted whether the investigators were sincerely working to solve the case.

Ratan Kumar Nath, general secretary of Diploma Nurses' Association, Chittagong, said police had taken the statement of only one colleague so far.

"They were supposed to record our statements but the investigation officer did not contact with us for that," he said. "I don't understand why they cannot unearth the clue of this murder after 45 days."

Kusum Dewan, deputy commissioner of DB, however, said, "Our investigation is covering all aspects including her family and professional issues."

He said, "Although we could not unearth any clue of the murder, there is no reason to think that we are not sincere in investigation.... We need some more time."

CMP Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mondol said political violence was keeping them busy.  "But our investigation into this case hasn't stopped," he said.

"We think it was a pre-planned murder executed by a well-organised group," he added, and assured that the criminals would be caught no matter how sly they are.