Furious mourners heckled Natore-4 lawmaker Abdul Aziz at the funeral of slain Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader Shakil Islam, before rampaging activists vandalised and looted a local business establishment as tension flared across Gurudaspur.
The unrest comes amid major developments in the murder investigation.
The lawmaker’s eldest son, Nuruzzaman Mintu, was expelled from Jubo Dal following his arrest, whilst Gurudaspur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Hannan was withdrawn from his post on Wednesday.
Natore Additional Superintendent of Police Ifte Khayer Alam confirmed that Hannan has been attached to the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rajshahi Range.
In a formal statement issued on Wednesday, Jubo Dal announced Mintu’s expulsion from the party, terminating his primary membership.
Mintu, joint convener of the organisation’s Gurudaspur upazila unit, was cast out following allegations of involvement in the killing of a fellow affiliate activist.
The statement stressed that Jubo Dal would bear no responsibility for any wrongdoing committed by expelled members, directing party personnel to sever all organizational ties with them.
Fatal attack on JCD leader
Shakil Islam, member secretary of the Gurudaspur municipal unit of JCD, was ambushed at around 9pm on 14 October in the Chanchkair Bazarpara area of Gurudaspur municipality.
Armed assailants hacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing on motorcycles.
His father, Rabiul Islam, initially filed an attempted murder case against unidentified individuals on 19 October.
However, after Shakil succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Dhaka at around 8:30pm on Monday, the charge was upgraded to murder.
Police detained the lawmaker’s son from a rented house in Gurudaspur Bazar at around 10pm that night.
Mintu was formally shown arrested and produced before a court the following day, where investigators were granted a three-day remand for questioning.
Lawmaker heckled with chants of ‘fake’
Shakil’s first funeral prayers were held outside the BNP’s central office in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan, on Tuesday afternoon, before his body was brought back to his village home in Gurudaspur that night.
Thousands gathered for the second funeral prayers at the Bilchalan Shaheed Shamsuzzoha College ground in Gurudaspur municipality.
Before the prayers commenced, MP Abdul Aziz addressed the congregation and offered prayers for the victim.
However, when he announced a financial contribution of Tk20 lakh for the bereaved family, sections of the crowd began chanting “fake, fake”, according to eyewitnesses and party activists.
Addressing the allegations surrounding his son, Aziz insisted that if Mintu was found guilty of the murder, he too would face full legal justice.
Business premises looted post-funeral
At around 11pm, immediately after the funeral prayers concluded, a procession of BNP and JCD activists marched towards Chanchkair Bazar.
During the march, activists broke into and looted a business establishment named Ras Urban Style, owned by US resident Russell Hossain.
Shakil’s father, Rabiul Islam, raised further serious allegations regarding the original case filing, claiming that Russell’s name had initially been inserted, and subsequently removed, on the direct instructions of the lawmaker.
Prior to his withdrawal, Officer-in-Charge Abdul Hannan said that no formal complaint had yet been lodged regarding the vandalism and looting at the commercial property, though additional police forces were deployed to maintain law and order.
The fallout has left Gurudaspur gripped by high political tension as police deepen their murder inquiry and public scrutiny over the lawmaker’s son intensifies.
