Bangladesh News

A close associate of Indian national Jibon Singh, a prime suspect in stealing the Nobel Prize medal of poet Rabindranath Tagore, was arrested at Azimpur in the city early yesterday.

A team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), led by Additional Superintendent of Police Abdullah Aref, caught Mohammad Hossain Shiplu after a three-hour sweeping raid in the area.

CID sources said they had information that Jibon Singh is hiding in Bangladesh under the shelter of Shiplu and that both the men are members of an international artefact-smuggling syndicate.

Indian police also informed their Bangladesh counterparts that they believe that the stolen medal is in Bangladesh, said the sources.

Officials said Shiplu admitted to having met Singh once but he did not know Singh’s present whereabouts. They have already petitioned to a Dhaka court for a 10-remand for Shiplu, hearing on which will be held today.

Rab discovered link between Shiplu and Singh after India’s CID officials wrote to Bangladesh police in November.

The law enforcers conducted several raids in the city that month in search of the medal, which was stolen from Uttarayan Complex of Vishwa Bharati University at Shantiniketan in March 2004. The high-profile heist also included a watch, a bangle and citations belonging to the great poet.

Rab at the time detained Shiplu’s father Abul Hossain, a handicraft businessman, and searched his shop at DCC Market in Gulshan, but failed to arrest the son. Hossain visited India dozens of times.

The Indian request to arrest and send Singh back to India came as Bangladesh is pushing for the handover of three top criminals — Tanveerul Islam Joy, Sanjidul Islam Emon and Harisuddin Harres alias Hasan, now in the custody of West Bengal police.

CID official Aref said they will put Shiplu on thorough interrogation during the remand to know about the location of Jibon Singh and the stolen medal.