ZCZC
JS-03
PM-JS-WAHIDA
Criminals involved in attack on UNO Wahida must be punished:PM
DHAKA, Sept 9, 2020 (BSS) – Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina today told parliament that those involved in the attack on Ghoraghat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Dinajpur Wahida Khanam must be punished as investigation is underway to unearth the real cause and the masterminds behind the heinous act.
“I can tell you all (lawmakers) that the culprits responsible for the attack would definitely get punishment and I’m ensuring it. Already some people were arrested to this end and investigation is underway to find out the real reason and masterminds behind it. There is no lapse in the probe and it (lapse) will not happen,” she said.
The Leader of the House came up with the statement while replying to a supplementary question from BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid from Chapainawabganj-3 constituency during the PM’s question-answer session in the House.
Harun in his query requested the PM to form a high-powered investigation team likewise the killing of Feni’s madrasha student Nusrat to probe the attack on UNO Wahida as he doubts that the local investigators could not do it properly.
Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League president, renewed her strong warning against criminals, saying, “I have earlier said in my eyes criminals are criminals. I’ll never consider what (political) party they belong to. I’ll not even spare if they are from my party—this is my policy and I’m moving ahead with this principle. You (lawmakers) have already realized it.”
Describing the attack on UNO Wahida as a matter of sorrow, she said some people have already been captured to this end and more arrests will be made following the investigation.
“Many have speculated it as a matter of theft. Investigation is going on in a proper manner to find out everything relating to the incident,” she continued.
The prime minister simultaneously requested the parliament members not to protect the criminals, saying, “The people who are committing crimes and protecting the criminals are equally liable.”
The Leader of the House said they have brought UNO Wahida to Dhaka by a helicopter immediately after the incident and took all possible measures to ensure her proper treatment.
UNO Wahida and her father Omar Ali were seriously injured in an attack by miscreants at her official residence on the Ghoraghat Upazila Parishad premises early Thursday.
She is now undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the prime accused in the case Asadul Haque and his two accomplices Nabiul Islam and Santu Kumar Biswas from different upazilas in Dinajpur the next day (Friday). All of them have been put on a seven-day remand for interrogation by a Dinajpur court.
Coming down heavily on BNP lawmaker Harun as he hinted at the involvement of the Awami League men in the attack on UNO Wahida, the premier said it should not right to blame leaders and activists of her party as they have been working sincerely to reach relief and other necessary assistances to the people affected by the coronavirus, the cyclone Amphan and flood.
Many of the AL leaders and activists have died after being infected with the COVID-19, she said, adding that on the contrary, the BNP government did nothing for the people after the 1991 devastating cyclone.
Responding to Harun’s plea to the premier not back to the past, the premier also said that, “We have to choose the path of the future after taking lessons from the past.”
In reply to a supplementary from BNP MP Golam Mohammad Siraj from Bogura-6, the Leader of the House said that the government is taking prompt action whenever any incident takes place, and in the case of attacking UNO Wahida nothing otherwise will happen.
The prime minister in this regard said all the family members of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman except she and her sister Sheikh Rehana were assassinated on August 15, 1975 carnage.
And unfortunately, the killers involved in the carnage were patronized through getting indemnity she said, adding that her government has been trying to stop recurrence of this evil culture.
In this connection, she also referred to synchronised bomb attacks at 500 places across the country, and the August 21, 2004, grisly grenade attacks on an AL’s anti-terrorism rally.
MORE/AHJ/SH/1435 HRS