Bangladesh Islami Front (BIF), a platform of several Islamist groups, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to the government for arresting the killers of Shaikh Nurul Islam Farooqi.Admitting the matter, MM Mannan, chairman of Islamic Front Bangladesh, told The New Nation yesterday that tougher programmes would be declared if the killers were not arrested within the period.Farooqi, 60, was a Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh. He was also the Presidium member and international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat – an organisation known better for opposing the views of Jamaat-e-Islami. On Wednesday night, unidentified armed assailants slaughtered Faruqi, presenter of religious programmes on Channel i, at his residence in the capital’s East Rajabazar area.Apart from anchoring programmes titled “Shantir Pothe” and “Kafela” on Channel i, he owned Farooqi Tours and Travels Private Limited, a Hajjagency, and served as the imam of Supreme Court mosque.Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Sena, student wing of Bangladesh Islami Front, has threatened to enforce nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday if the killers of Nurul Islam Faruqi, are not arrested by Saturday. The leaders issued the threat from a rally held in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the capital protesting the brutal murder.Before holding the rally, the leaders and activists in a procession paraded different thoroughfares in the capital.Earlier in the day, the student body called a daylong hartal in Chittagong district for Sunday demanding immediate arrest of the killers.Protesting the murder, Chhatra Sena declared the hartal from a demonstration programme in front of Chittagong Press Club.Meanwhile, hundreds of activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, an Islamist group, where Farooqi was acting International Affairs Secretary, blocked Muradpur intersection in the port city for three hours since 8:00am protesting the murder.The party will hold protest rally across the country on August 30 and bring procession at divisional cities on August 31, Mosaheb Uddin Bakhtiar, a member secretary read out the written programme schedule.We will announce further programmes on September 3, if the killers are not arrested by September 2, he added.Earlier, activists of Ahle Sunnat and Chhatra Sena blocked Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway in Patiya upazila for one and a half hour since 10:00am.Mosahebuddin Bakhtiar, Secretary General of Ahle Sunnat-al-Jamaat announced a grand protest rally at Laldighi Maidan for September 2 protesting Farooqi’s murder and said tougher programmes will be announced from the rally.The Party men arranged protesting demonstration across the country including city, Chittagong, cox’s Bazar, Rangpur, Lalmonit Hat and so on. Earlier, in the morning, the Islami organisation called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the districts of Chittagong, Comilla, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar for Sunday.Meanwhile, Faisal Faruqi, son of the slain Nurul Islam Farooqi, has lodged a case in connection with the gruesome murder with the Sher-e-Banglanagar police station.The case was filed at 2am on Thursday against 8-10 unnamed persons, said Sher-e-Banglanagar police station duty officer Humayun Kabir. Police’s Deputy Commissioner (Tejgaon zone) Biplob Kumar Sarkar said, “We have brought at least three eyewitnesses at the police station and questioned them. They are not being quizzed as suspects rather they are helping us to investigate.”The police officer, however, declined to reveal the identities of the witnesses.”We are trying our best to make a breakthrough,” said Sarkar.”The staff recognised two of them. Father told them to come on Wednesday. The men were armed with pistols and machetes (the second time they came),” he said.His strong voice against superstitions in religion and stance against Jamaat-e-Islami might be the reason behind the murder, said Bilob Kumar Sarker.Col Ziaul Islam, the additional director general of RAB, thinks people from the same group who had killed six persons including Lutfar Rahman Faruk, a pir in Gopibagh, and blogger and architect Ahmed Rajeeb Haider were behind Farooqi’s murder.While talking to the reporters at his secretariat office on Thursday State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, said that the law enforcing agencies were investigating the matter and the killers of Farooqi would be held soon.He said it a brutal killing and none would be spared if connection found with the incident. “The law enforcers have already taken necessary steps to arrest the killers,” he added. Meanwhile, Hefajat-e-Islam Ameer Allama Shaah Shafi rejected the involvement his party with killing of Farooqi. He said that some newspapers published false news to tarnish image of his organisation. Allama Shaah Shafi, however, demanded exemplary punishment of the killers of Farooqi.Isalmi Chaatra Shibir Central Publicasion and Reseach Secretary Monir Hossain said that the government should arrest the criminals immediately as part of the controlling country’s law and order situation. Besides, the autopsy of Farooqi was completed at Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue around 11:00am on Thursday, said the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) Police Outpost In-charge Mozammel Haque. The DMCH’s Forensic Department Lecturer Dr Mohammad Hossain supervised the autopsy.Hossain said that several serious injuries marks were found in the body and it was a preplanned killing. Farooqui’s son Faisal Farooqui said that the first Namaz-e-Janaza was held at East Razabazar residence area on Thursday and the second Janaza would be held at Jatiya Eidgah field today (Friday). His son Foysal said that several youth had come to the house to talk over Hajj and killed Faroouqi.Quoting Farooqi’s nephew ‘Maruf’, Mirpur Baitul Rashid Mosque Imam Ehsanul Haq said, “Two youths came to his house at around 8:30pm saying they would like to go on Hajj.”Six or seven more people forcefully entered the house when the door was opened. They took out firearms and one of them said ‘give us the money you have’. When Farooqi said he had around Tk 100,000 at home, they said this money would not do for so many of them.Ehsanul Haq said the youths then tied Farooqi’s hands and legs with clothes in his bedroom and slaughtered him before leaving.The victim’s wife, mother, nephew Maruf, and domestic help were at home. His eldest son Ahmed Reza Faruqi is in Saudi Arabia. His two other sons were not at home at that time of the incident.
