A day after demand for arrest of slain Rifat Sharif’s wife Ayesha Siddiqa Minni, she has claimed that conspiracies were afloat against her in a bid to save the ‘real killers of her husband ‘.
“The group styled 007 is very powerful in Barguna. They are pressuring my father-in-law in many ways to influence Rifat’s murder probe,” she said while addressing a press conference at her father’s house in Nowakata village in Barguna Sarad upazila on Sunday fternoon.
“Whatever my father-in-law has said is false and baseless. My father-in-law is suffering from dementia,” Minni said in her written statement in the press conference.
On Saturday, Rifat’s father Abdul Halim Dulal demanded the immediate arrest of his daughter-in-law Minni alleging that she had a hand in the murder. Dulal raised 10-point allegation against Minni the first witness in the case.
Rejecting the allegation, Minni said, “The people, who have created the 007 group are politically and financially influential and they are trying to hide the real killers by
spreading such propaganda.” About marital status with Nayan Bond, one of the killers, Minni said she did not get married to him (Nayan), but she was forced to put a signature on a white paper.
“I was made the first witness in the case without being charged. But now suddenly allegations are leveled against me to mislead the investigation,” she said.
“Many have questioned my role after seeing the CCTV footage, but no one tried to know the truth,” she said.
Minni said that the day of the killing, Rifat went to her college and said that his father was there and wanted to see her.
“When I got out, his father wasn’t there. Rifat requested me to go out with him when Rishan Farazi and Rifat Farazi took hold of him.
“I was taken aback by the whole thing and started walking after them. When I saw them beating him, I tried to save him but failed,” Minni said.
She expressed gratitude towards the administration and Home Minister for giving her protection and called on the prime minister to ensure justice.
Meanwhile, a human-chain was formed in front of Barguna press club on Sunday morning demanding immediate arrest of Minni showing her as an accused of the murder.
Speakers at the programme asked the law enforcers to arrest her immediately to take into account in the murder case.
Rifat’s father Sharif, his uncle Abdul Aziz, upazila Awami league’s Science and Technology affair Secretary Advocate Sunam Debnath and Sadar Upazila Awami league’s Joint Secretary Maruf Mridha were present among others.
Dulal claimed that before Minni tied the knot with Rifat, she had married Sabbir Hossain Nayan alias Nayan Bond, one of the killers, and her family had kept the matter a secret.
He said they did not know of this “secret marriage” when they made Minni the first witness in the case filed over the murder.
Everything would become clear if police arrested Minni and interro-gated her regarding the murder, he said.
Rifat’s father alleged that she had helped the killers because she was having an affair with Nayan.
Dulal urged the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to take immediate steps to uncover the “real facts” of the killing and bring all the killers to book.
On Jun 26, Rifat was hacked to death in broad daylight by a group of assailants led by Nayan Bond who himself was killed in a ‘shootout’ on Jul 2.
