Goyeshwar slams BNP for not observing Ilias' disappearance anniversary

BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy yesterday strongly criticised the party's high-ups for not holding any programme marking the fourth anniversary of disappearance of its leader M Ilias Ali, and for urging the government to trace him out.

"Why does BNP fear to remember its missing leader Ilias Ali? He went missing as a BNP leader, not as a man of Sylhet," said Goyeshwar at a discussion organised by Sylhet Division Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Forum at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.

"I got the opportunity to express my sympathy to him as some students from Sylhet organised this programme," mentioned the BNP leader, adding, "It was because the government feared him seriously that it tried to eliminate him."

While addressing the discussion, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed said, "Ilias is in the hands of the government, and we can get him back amidst us at any moment if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wishes."

Former lawmaker and BNP Organising Secretary (Sylhet Division) M Ilias Ali along with his chauffeur have been missing since April 17, 2012. Since then, BNP has been claiming that the government agencies picked them up to make them disappear.