The BNP has dubbed as ‘eyewash’ the police raid on the house of Nur Hossain, the prime accused in the Narayanganj multiple murder case. Party’s spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the abduction and murder of seven men, including Councillor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar, have shaken the nation’s conscience. “Police raided Nur Hossain’s house days after mass anger surfaced over the killings,” he said during an event in Dhaka on Sunday. The BNP is holding a daylong mass hunger strike in protest against forced disappearances, murders and cases against its activists. Unidentified abductors picked up the seven men on Apr 27 and their bloated bodies were found in the Shitalakhya River two days later. Nazrul’s wife filed a case of abduction against Siddhirganj unit Awami League Vice-President Nur Hossain and General Secretary Haji Md Yasin. Hossain refuted the allegations but has evaded public appearances since the murders. Police on Saturday raided Hossain’s house and detained 12 men from there for questioning, besides confiscating a microbus. “It is nothing but an eyewash,” claimed Fakhrul adding that numerous activists of his party have suffered forced disappearances over the past five years. “There are allegations that the opposition activists are picked up by people posing as law enforcers at the behest of the government,” he said. He went further saying the government “was using the law enforcing agencies to conduct all sorts of criminal activities”. This came on a day a Spain-based non-resident Bangladeshi tycoon accused his business rivals in Dhaka of using the RAB to frame him. BNP’s eight-hour hunger strike would end at 5pm. Party chief Khaleda Zia is expected to join the programme. — bdnews24.com
