Col (retd) Abdul Kader Khan, a former Jatiya Party lawmaker, was arrested in Bogra yesterday for his suspected involvement in the murder of Gaibandha-1 Awami League MP Manzurul Islam Liton.

The arrest was made within a day after the inspector general of police claimed that Liton's killers had been identified.

A team of Gaibandha police with the help of Bogra police arrested Kader, a doctor, at his residence/clinic in Rahmannagar area of Bogra town around 5:00pm, said police.

“During interrogation, some of the arrestees in Liton murder case told us the name of Kader. We have arrested him on suspicion of his involvement in the killing,” Ashraful Alam, superintendent of police (SP) in Gaibandha, told our Bogra correspondent.

Kader was taken to Gaibandha around 11:00pm.

“During primary interrogation, he gave us some information,” he said without elaborating for “the sake of investigation”.

Kader would be produced before a court today, he said, adding that they would brief journalists on the matter around 10:00am.

Liton was killed after unknown assailants opened fire on him inside his home in Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha on December 31 last year.

Later, Liton's sister Tahmida Akhter Kakoli filed the case with Sundarganj Police Station against four to five unknown people.

Talking to The Daily Star, Kader's family members said they suspected that the former MP would be arrested anytime as police members had been deployed around their house since Thursday evening.

The deployment came after Kader collected his nomination for the Gaibandha-1 by-polls scheduled for March 22. He was elected as the MP from the parliamentary seat in the 2008 general elections.

Most of the law enforcers, however, left the area after Kader announced that he would not submit his nomination.

 Asked, SP Ashraful said police were deployed there to provide security to Kader as he had collected his nomination for the by-polls.

Yesterday, police raided the house where Kader and his wife Nasima Akhtar, who is also a doctor, had been practicing for long, said the family members.

“Police could not show me any arrest warrant while arresting my husband,” Nasima told The Daily Star, adding that Kader was taken away in a microbus later.

On Thursday, Kader's driver Hannan and caretaker Shamim were detained from the house for interrogation in connection with the case, said police.

Contacted, Liton's sister Kakoli told this newspaper that she was not aware of Kader's arrest. “He [Kader] should be punished, if he is really involved in the murder.” 

On Monday, IGP Shahidul Hoque told journalists that the investigation in the case made significant progress. The three attackers of Liton who came on motorbikes were on watch and would be arrested soon. 

Liton was elected uncontested as the Gaibandha-1 MP in the 2014 elections. After his death, the constituency fell vacant. The by-polls would be held there on March 22.

Immediately after the murder, law enforcers and several AL leaders said extremists and Jamaat-e-Islami men might have a hand in it. On January 4, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina too blamed Jamaat for the killing.

"Liton was brutally killed due to his anti-Jamaat-Shibir role and we won't tolerate this murder in anyway," she said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rangpur range) Khandker Golam Faruq said, "We are looking into all possible sides but involvement of militants or Jamaat is on top of them".

LITON SISTER'S CAR DAMAGED

Some unidentified people yesterday threw brick chips at the jeep of Liton's elder sister Afroza Bari when she was coming back after paying tributes to the Language Movement martyrs at the Shaheed Minar in Sundarganj upazila, reports our Gaibandha correspondent.

Afroza along with some leaders and activists of AL and its associate bodies went to the Shaheed Minar around 9:00am on the International Mother Language Day.

Some of the brick chips hit the rear of the jeep after it reached near Shishu Niketon KG School in the upazila, said local AL leaders.

No one was hurt.

On information, police went to the spot but the criminals had already fled.

Contacted, Officer-in-charge of Sundarganj Police Station Atiar Rahman said he heard about the   incident.