A freedom fighter on Sunday demanded justice for his daughter’s murder allegedly by the political rivals in Santhia upazila of Pabna district last month.
Mozammel Haque, a freedom fighter from Nagdemra village in the upazila, urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the law enforcing agencies to ensure him justice by arresting the killers of his daughter.
He said this in a press briefing held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) organised by Bangladesh Muktijuddho Gobeshona Kendra yesterday morning.
Abdus Salam, President of Ward No 1 unit of Nagdemra union Awami League and his associate Jahed Ali had long been threatening Mozammel and his family members since he denounced Salam’s joining AL after the party came to power in 2008, Mozammel claimed.
Abdus Salam is also a former Jamaat-e-Islami activist, and his associate Jahed Ali is the son of an alleged war criminal who was slain during the Liberation War in 1971, he said.
Jahed Ali also wanted to take revenge against the freedom fighters over the death of his father during the Liberation War, he added.
Despite local authorities’ efforts to end the feud, Salam,
Jahed and their cohorts on August 19 went to Mozammel’s house to kill him, the freedom fighter alleged.
As his wife and daughter tried to save Mozammel, he managed to flee. The culprits beat them indiscriminately, vandalised their house, and then set their daughter Mukti Khatun, 22, on fire after pouring petrol on her.
Speaking at the briefing, Shahjahan Mridha, General Secretary of Bangladesh Muktijuddho Gobeshona Kendra, demanded exemplary punishment of the culprits for the heinous crime they have committed.
“Please do not disrespect the freedom fighters, we have no other expectations,” he lamented.
Mukti, a second-year student of Philosophy Department at Government Edward College in Pabna, suffered 60 per cent burns and died from her injuries at the ICU of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) around 1:30am on August 28.
Police said, there had been a longstanding conflict between Mozammel and his neighbour Salam over capturing a water body in the village.
Both groups had clashed several times in the past and cases were filed against the two.
Relatives of the culprits have been threatening the victim’s family in social media from abroad.
“Abdus Salam’s nephew Nasim Uddin from Saudi Arabia post in his Facebook profile that he would take the matter in his hands once he returns to the country. We have been living in fear since the incident and are yet to go back to our home,” said Nasir Uddin, victim’s brother.
Meanwhile, Al Mahmud Delwar, President of Santhia upazila unit AL, said the incident happened over a land-related dispute.
“Although the accused are the party activists and also hold party posts, we never support such crime,” said Mahmud, adding that they wanted punishment of the culprits, although they were party activists.
Earlier, Pabna district unit of Mohila Parishad held a human chain in the district town yesterday noon, demanding exemplary punishment of the culprits.
This is a heinous crime to kill a college girl by setting her on fire. The culprits must be punished so that such crime does not happen again in future, said Kamrunnahar Joly, President of Pabna Mohila Parishad, at the human chain.
