Sixty-nine days after the burial of her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, a weeping BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Monday visited his grave at Banani Graveyard and offered fateha.
She also recited the verses from the holy Quran beside the grave and offered a munajat seeking salvation of Koko’s departed soul.
Around 5:39pm, Khaleda started her journey from her Gulshan residence where she returned on Sunday after nearly 92 days and reached the graveyard in 10 minutes.Getting down from her vehicle, the BNP chief broke down into tears and stepped towards the grave.
Khaleda stood still beside the grave for some time with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Later, she offered fateha and munajat with party leaders and activists joining the prayers.
She then recited from the holy Quran sitting in a chair beside Koko’s grave and stayed there for a while.
BNP standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, Jamiruddin Sircar, Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Abdul Moyeen Khan, BNP vice Chairman Selima Rahman, BNP chairperson’s adviser Khandaker Mahbub Hossain and BNP joint secretary general Mahbubuddin Khokan were, among others, present.
Khaleda, who had been staying in her Gulshan office since January 3, came out of it for the first time on Sunday to appear before a court seeking bail in two graft cases filed against her. After securing the bail, she returned to her residence.
On January 24, Arafat Rahman Koko died of cardiac arrest at the age of 45 at his rented house in Malaysia.
His body was taken back home on January 27 and buried at Banani Graveyard after a huge namaz-e-janaza at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on the same day.
Khaleda was said to have been confined at that time to her Gulshan office where she had the glimpse of her son.
Khaleda last met her younger son in Bangkok in June 2013 on her way to the United States.
