Taqi Murder: Hasina’s fall brings new hope for justice

Tanwir Muhammad Taqi, a bright youngster and son of cultural activist Rafiur Rabbi, went missing on March 6, 2013.
The 17-year-old left his home on Shaista Khan Road in Narayanganj, heading towards a local library.
Two days later, his body was found floating in the Shitalakkhya River.
The day after his body was discovered, his A-level results were released. Taqi had achieved the highest mark in the world for physics, scoring 297 out of 300.
On March 8, 2013, Rabbi filed a murder case with Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station. On March 18, he submitted a supplementary complaint, accusing seven named individuals, including influential political figure Shamim Osman, alongside 8-10 unnamed others, of being involved in his son’s murder.
The case was transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion by order of the High Court in June 2013.
Taqi’s parents saw a glimpse of hope days before Taqi’s first death anniversary when a leaked Rab probe implicated 11 people in Taqi’s murder.
Among them was Azmery Osman, the son of late Jatiyo Party lawmaker Nasim Osman and the nephew of Shamim Osman.
Col Ziaul Ahsan, the then additional director general of Rab, said at the time they had gathered enough evidence to implicate the 11 suspects and promised that a charge sheet would be filed soon.
Yet, despite his assurances, that day of justice remained elusive.
Ten years passed, and Taqi’s family was still waiting.
Lt Col Tanveer Mahmud Pasha, the commanding officer of Rab-11, recently told this newspaper Rab had reached the final stages of the investigation within the first year of the murder. However, due to “hidden pressure,” they were unable to move forward.
For years, Rabbi pointed his finger at former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, accusing her of stalling the investigation.
Hasina gave a speech in parliament following the death of Nasim Osman in April 2014, where she vowed to “take care” of the Osman family.
From that moment, it seemed, any momentum towards justice for Taqi was lost.
But Rabbi never gave up. He pressed on, hoping that one day the system that had failed him would be held accountable.
That day may finally be here. The tables have turned following Hasina’s ouster from power on August 5, 2024, through a student-led mass uprising.
With the Osman family now in hiding and no longer enjoying political protection, the investigation into Taqi’s murder has been revived.
In the past few days, Rab has arrested four suspects in connection with the case, all close associates of the Osman clan.
After a decade of heartbreak, Rabbi’s hope is now rekindled.
“The government has changed. I hope the current administration will uplift the fragile and broken judiciary and bring justice to the doorstep of the people,” Rabbi said.
After years of fighting against a system stacked against him, he is finally beginning to believe that justice for Taqi might be within reach.
In 2013, two cadres of the Osman family — Yusuf Hossain alias Liton and Sultan Shawkat Bhramor — confessed in court that Taqi was tortured and killed in Azmery Osman’s torture cell.
Rabbi claimed that after Nasim and Shamim Osman met Hasina, she ordered the then director general and additional director general of Rab to halt the investigation. From then on, all progress in the murder case stopped, he said.
After Rab’s findings were leaked, Rabbi asked why Shamim Osman and his son Ayon Osman weren’t named.
Rab official Ziaul Ahsan told him he was instructed not to include them, Rabbi said.
Initially, police investigated the case and quickly found links to the Osman family.
Three days after Taqi’s murder, a detective gave Rabbi an audio recording of a conversation between Nasim Osman and his son Azmery.
“After hearing it, I was sure they were behind my son’s killing,” Rabbi said.
Rab-11 conducted a drive on Sunday night, arresting  Shafayet Hossain Shipon and Mamun Mia from Chashara and Kalir Bazar in Narayanganj city.
The next day, another person, Kajal Hawlader, was arrested from Dhaka.
Their names were on the list of a leaked Rab investigation alongside Azmery Osman.
On Wednesday, Rab arrested Jamshed Sheikh, 36, the driver of Azmery, from Dhaka’s Mirpur.
According to the draft probe, Jamshed was driving the car, in which Taqi’s body was taken for dumping in the Shitalakhya.
Previously, Yusuf Hossain Liton, Sultan Shawkat Bromor, Rifat, Tayebuddin, and Simanta — all named in the draft report, were arrested in connection with Taqi’s murder.
Yousuf and Sultan confessed to the crime before a magistrate, but all five have since been absconding after being released on bail.
Rab-11 CO Pasha said the Taqi murder investigation reached a near conclusion in 2013, but progress slowed after the then CO was transferred.
He mentioned that while many suspects were identified, not all were found, and a committee has been formed to complete the probe.
Pasha said they aim to submit the charge sheet within three months, as the current environment allows for an impartial investigation.
According to the leaked probe findings, Azmery not only masterminded the murder, but also directly took part in it.
According to the report, Azmery killed Taqi as his father Rafiur Rabbi, a left-leaning leader and a cultural organiser, along with his supporters actively campaigned for Selina Hayet Ivy ahead of the Narayanganj City Corporation election.
At his directives, his accomplices abducted Taqi and took him to his “torture centre” at Winner Fashion on Allama Iqbal Road on March 6, 2013.
Later that night, Azmery and his cohorts beat and strangled Taqi to death.
His body was then put into a sack and taken to Charargop area in Azmery’s car.
From there, the killers took the body to Kumudini Jora Khal in a boat and dumped it in the Shitalakkhya sometime between 1:00am and 1:30am on March 7.
Earlier on August 7, 2013, Rab raided Azmery’s “Winner Fashion” office in Narayanganj, seizing blood-stained jeans, a pistol butt, and yaba consumption equipment.
Bullet marks were found on the walls, an almirah, and a sofa.
“Winner Fashion” was one of six known torture cells identified by Taqi Mancha, a citizen platform formed in 2014 to combat crime in Narayanganj.
Neither Shamin Osman nor anyone from his family could be reached for comments. Earlier, he denied any involvement of his family with the killing.