Bangla Press Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said perpetrators of the attack on Ghoraghat UNO Wahida Khanam must be punished as an investigation was underway to find out the real cause and identify the masterminds behind the heinous act.
“I can tell you all that the culprits responsible for the attack will definitely be punished and I am ensuring it. Some people have already been arrested in this regard and an investigation is underway to find out the real cause and masterminds behind it. There is no lapse in the probe and it will not happen,” the PM told parliament. She was replying to a supplementary question from BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid from Chapainawabganj-3.
The opposition MP requested the premier to form a high-powered investigation team like it was done over the killing of Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi to probe the attack on the UNO as he expressed doubts whether the local investigators in Dinajpur would be able to conduct the probe properly.
In reply, Hasina said, “In my eyes, criminals are criminals. I will never consider which [political] party they belong to. I will not spare those even if they are from my party, this is my policy and I’m moving ahead with this principle. You have already realised it.”
Terming the attack on UNO Wahida in Dinajpur unfortunate, the Leader of the House said some people have already been arrested in connection with the incident and more arrests would be made following the investigation.
“Many have speculated that it as an incident of theft. An investigation is underway in a proper manner to find out everything in connection with the incident.”
Hasina asked the lawmakers not to protect criminals. “People who are committing crimes and those protecting the criminals are equally liable.”
She said the government had flown UNO Wahida to Dhaka by a helicopter after the incident and took all possible measures to ensure her proper treatment.
Wahida and her father Omar Ali were seriously injured in an attack by criminals at her official residence on the Ghoraghat Upazila Parishad premises on the night of September 2.
She is now undergoing treatment at the capital’s National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital.
Law enforcement agencies have so far arrested Asadul Haque, the prime accused in a case filed in connection with the attack, and his two aides Nabiul Islam and Santu Kumar Biswas from different upazilas in Dinajpur on Friday.
The three were placed on seven-day remand each by a Dinajpur court for interrogation.
MORNINGS IN PM’S DAILY LIFE
Yesterday in parliament, Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam wanted to know what the premier looks for first after waking up from bed in the morning. Hasina in reply said she starts her day with offering prayers and reciting the holy Quran.
“After waking up, I first look for a Jainamaj [prayer mat]. Then I recite the holy Quran. I myself make a cup of tea or coffee. If my younger sister or my daughter Putul is at home, the person who wakes up first makes the tea or coffee,” the PM said, adding that she then starts reading books.
During the Covid-19 period, she takes a morning walk and sits on the bank of the Gono Bhaban Lake with a fishing rod to catch fish, Hasina said.
BP/SM
