Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary and Wasim Bin Habib

More than two years have gone by but Ayesha Begum, wife of slain Teknaf municipality councillor Akramul Haque, still does not know whether there has been any investigation into her husband’s killing.

She said after the killing triggered a huge public outcry, two ministers from the ruling party promised her of arranging a meeting with the prime minister and requested her not to talk to journalists anymore.

But the meeting never happened, nor did the ministers communicate with her ever again.

“None from the authorities came to help us get justice in these two years… I want to know why he [Akramul] became a victim of crossfire. If he was killed at the instructions of some high-ups, then I want to know who gave that order,” a frustrated Ayesha told The Daily Star.

Akramul, also a member of the ruling Awami League, was killed in a “gunfight” with Rab during a nationwide anti-narcotics drive. The incident happened on May 26 in 2018 in Noakhalipara on Teknaf Marine Drive Road.

At a press conference after the incident, Ayesha alleged that her husband was murdered in cold blood. She gave journalists four unverified audio clips of conversations in support of her claim.

In one of the clips, a female voice is heard continuously screaming over a mobile phone, hearing gunshots during a phone call. Ayesha claimed that the female voice was hers and the gunshots were fired at her husband.

The Daily Star spoke to her on Thursday after Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan was killed in police firing at a checkpost in Teknaf on the night of July 31.

Sinha had served in the Special Security Force (SSF) and took voluntary retirement from the army two years ago. His killing caused a public uproar. The authorities acted promptly and seven accused policemen have already been sent to jail. Three have been placed on remand.