Daulatpur (Kushtia) Correspondent

SM Tanvir Arafat, former Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kushtia, has been shown arrested again in connection with the murder case of BNP activist Qudrat Ali in Daulatpur, Kushtia, who was killed by gunfire.

Today, Monday (July 28), he was brought to the Kushtia court under strict security from prison at 1:41 PM. He was then presented before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Mostofa Parvez of the Daulatpur Amoli Court, where he was shown arrested in another murder case. Afterwards, at 1:51 PM, he was sent back to prison from the court.

Previously, on December 26, he was arrested as the main accused in the shooting death of another BNP activist, Sujan Malitha. Since then, he has been held in Kushtia Jail.

Deputy Police Commissioner Tanvir Arafat was attached to the Sylhet Range DIG office. His ancestral home is in Khulna’s Khalishpur Upazila. During his tenure in Kushtia, police officer SM Tanvir Arafat was controversial. He faced criticism for various actions since his arrival in Kushtia. He even had to stand in the dock of the court for these incidents and suffer departmental punishment.

Details of the Qudrat Ali Murder Case

The son of the deceased BNP activist Qudrat Ali filed a case at Daulatpur Police Station on October 2, 2024.

In the case statement, the plaintiff mentioned that his father, Qudrat Ali, was an active supporter of BNP. “Since the inception of BNP, my father, my family, and I have been involved with BNP. My father actively participated in all BNP programs. Due to his widespread popularity in the area, my father Qudrat Ali could gather large crowds at local meetings, rallies, and programs.”

“For this reason, Awami League terrorists and some opportunistic police officers planned to arrest and murder my father under false charges to prevent him from participating in BNP programs. As a result of this conspiracy, the accused, including (then) (1) OC Investigation Nishikant Sarkar, (2) SI Roknuzzaman, (3) SI Mehedi Hasan, (4) SI Shahjahan, (5) ASI Anisur Rahman, (6) former Kushtia District Superintendent of Police SM Tanvir Ahmed, and other police officers, planned to kill my father.”

“According to the plan, around 2:00 AM on July 23, 2020, the aforementioned accused, along with 10-12 unidentified police officers, came to our home in Munshiganj and abducted my father, Qudrat Ali, from the house. Subsequently, from July 23 to July 25, my relatives, BNP party members, and I searched for my father Qudrat. When we went to the police station and asked OC Investigation Nishikant Sarkar about my father’s whereabouts, he said they couldn’t say anything.”

“On the morning of July 25, we heard that my father had been disappeared and murdered, and his body was kept at the police station. Upon receiving this news, we first went to the police station and learned that the body had been sent to Kushtia Hospital. At the hospital, we found my father Qudrat Ali’s body. There were two bullet marks on his chest, on the right and left sides, and injury marks on both hands, back, face, and legs.”

“The accused abducted my father from our house, disappeared him, tortured him, shot him to death, and then left the body at the hospital morgue. After the burial of the body, on July 26, when I went to file a case against the accused, OC Investigation Nishikant Sarkar told me that if I filed a case, I would face the same fate. Due to the Awami League being in power and SP SM Tanvir Arafat earning the nickname ‘Kushtia Killer Tanvir,’ no one dared to speak up out of fear. Consequently, neither my family nor I could file any case. After Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5, and the situation became normal, I filed this complaint.”

Police Statement and Previous Cases

Regarding this matter, Daulatpur Police Station OC Md. Solaiman Sheikh stated that an application for his arrest was made to the court in connection with a case at Daulatpur Police Station. The court granted the arrest application. It is worth noting that at that time, according to police information, Qudrat Ali was a drug dealer, and he was killed in a crossfire during a police anti-drug operation.

Previous Murder Case

Incidentally, on September 13, 2019, a case was filed against former Kushtia SP Tanvir Arafat for the alleged shooting death of BNP activist Sujan Malitha. On September 29, Sujan Hossain (42), the political elder brother of the deceased Sujan, filed the case at Kushtia Model Police Station. The case named a total of 15 individuals, with 10-12 unknown individuals also accused. The deceased Sujan Malitha was the son of Ismail Malitha of Takimara village in Kushtia Sadar Upazila. The plaintiff, Sujan Hossain, is the son of Abdur Razzak of Lalon Shah Road, Mill Line area, Kushtia city.