The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent

Mystery shrouds the visit of two officials of Swedish Embassy in Dhaka and two journalists from Sweden to Gopalganj jail last week and their half an hour meeting with an inmate of the jail who is a prisoner in a murder case.

They met Joy Rahman, Chairman,Welfare Foundation, a local NGO, in jail.

Local sources said Joy was arrested by the police for his movement in the murder of Ashit Biswas, an accountant of the organisation, about three years ago.

Some people kidnapped Ashit Biswas from his office on April 2,2005 and then took him to a gardening project of the Foundation beside the river Modhumoti under Gopalganj sadar upazila.Later kidnappers killed Ashit and dumped his body into a seven-feet deep hole which was especially dug for this purpose,according to sources.The sources further said skeleton of the victim became exposed to public view on March 21 when the erosion of the river stretched upto the hole where Ashit's body was dumped.

The relatives identified the body as that of Ashit on the basis of his shirt.shoes,wallet and an identity card which were found scattered around the skeleton in the hole.

Close relatives of Ashit said Joy Rahman fled to Sweden immeidately after the gruesome murder and managed to obtain the ctizenship of that country.

Joy Rahman was nabbed by the police when he returned to Bangladesh in January 2007. Joy was arrested following confessional statement of three of his accomplices who were earlier taken into police custody in connection with Ashit's murder.

Meanwhile, the visit of the two officials of the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka and two Swedish journalists to Gopalganj jail and their half an hour meeting with Joy in Jail has generated much interest and curiosity of the local people. They are unable to comprehend the reason behind such meeting with a person charged with commuting a murder.

The relatives of Ashit alleged that the visit was aimed at securing the release of Joy. Ashit fell from the grace of Joy because of his growing popularity with the workers and employees of the Foundation, some employees of the organisation felt.