MP Azim murder accused Shimul Bhuiyan's associate detained from Jashore

Police have arrested an associate of Shimul Bhuiyan alias Amanullah, an accused in the Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar's murder, has been detained from Jashore on Tuesday (28 May) evening.

The arrestee has been identified as Saifiul Alam, an official of the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police told The Business Standard.

According to police, Shimul Bhuiyan acted as the main hitman in the murder of MP Azim. However, initially, after his arrest, he was identified as Amanullah, based on the fake passport found with him.

Later, his true identity came out along with some disturbing details.

Hailing from Khulna, Shimul is an infamous criminal who has been accused in dozens of cases. He has also been found guilty and served time in multiple murder cases. He adopted various pseudonyms at different times to carry out his crimes.

Previously, he was known as Fazal Bhuiyan, Shihab, and Fazal Mohammad according to police records. However, after his arrest in connection with the murder of MP Azim, a new name, Syed Amanullah, was discovered.

In May 2022, a charge sheet was filed for the murder of the former chairman of Fultola upazila and former organising secretary of district BNP, Sardar Alauddin Mithu, and his bodyguard Nawsher Gazi. Shimul was named as an accused in the charge sheet.

Mithu and Nawsher were killed in their office in the Notun Haat area of Fultala on the night of 25 May 2017. 

Around 1990, Shimul Bhuiyan first came to public attention for his involvement in the killing of Dumuria upazila chairman Imran in Khulna. He was subsequently arrested and imprisoned from 1991 to 1997.

In 1998, his name was linked to the killing of Sardar Abul Kashem of Damodar union. After that, he was arrested again in connection with a murder case in Jashore's Abhaynagar area in 2000. Shimul Bhuiyan remained incarcerated in that case until 2013.

No one has seen him since his release from prison. However, his name has been linked to murders on multiple occasions.

Allegations suggest he orchestrated murder incidents even while in jail. He is suspected of involvement in the murder of Sardar Abu Saeed Badal, chairman of Damodar union, in 2010.

During the trial of the Badal murder case, Shimul's younger brother Mukul Bhuiyan, also known as Hatkata Mukul, was killed in a police "crossfire", local sources told TBS.

Additionally, there are 25 cases against him listed by the police.