Staff Reporter :
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, State Minister for Religious Affairs, who died on Saturday night, was infected with the novel coronavirus, according to State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury.
Abdullah’s Covid-19 test result came back positive after his death, said Khalid, adding that the State Minister’s body would be taken to Gopalganj for burial.
The Technocrat Minister fell ill at his Bailey Road residence on Saturday night and was subsequently taken to the Combined Military Hospital. He later died of a ‘heart attack,’ according to his aide Khandaker Yasir Arafat.
But Awami League Presidium Member Jahangir Kabir Nanak told reporters on Saturday that measures would be taken in line with health directives on conducting coronavirus testing.
Having worked as the parliamentary representative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Gopalganj-3 Constituency several times, he took charge of the ministry as state minister after the 2018 election.
President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condoled the death of the State Minister for Religious Affairs.
Born at Kekania in Gopalganj on September 8, 1945, Abdullah was the third among seven children of Sheikh Mohammad Matiur Rahman and Rabeya Khatun. He graduated from Azam Khan College in Khulna in 1966 and obtained M.Com and MA degrees from the Dhaka University after independence. He also completed LLB.
Starting his career as a school headmaster, he later switched over to the legal profession. Abdullah passed the Bangladesh Civil Service examination in 1973, but opted for politics and eventually became the general secretary of the Awami League’s Gopalganj unit. He worked also as the religious affairs secretary of the ruling party’s central committee as well.
