HC asks again to erase name of collaborator from Khulna road

The High Court yesterday again directed the Khulna City Corporation to immediately change the name of Khan A Sabur Road into its previous name, Jessore Road, because Sabur was a collaborator of the anti-liberation force.

During hearing a writ petition, the court ordered the mayor to submit a report on compliance in seven days.

The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman also fixed November 9 for passing a further order on the issue, writ petitioners' lawyer AKM Rashedul Huq told The Daily Star.

He said the HC on August 25 directed the city corporation to rename the road in Khulna city and Shah Azizur Rahman Auditorium of Islamic University in Kushtia as they carried the names of collaborators.

Both Khan A Sabur and Shah Azizur Rahman were ministers during the Pakistan era and opposed Bangladesh's war of independence, the lawyer said.

He added that Jessore Road was named after Sabur during BNP's rule from 1991 to 1996, while Shah Azizur Rahman was the prime minister during the regime of BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman.

Islamic University has told the HC that they changed the name of its auditorium, but the Khulna mayor recently told a newspaper that the name of Khan A Sabur Road was not changed because his office did not get the copy of the  August 25 HC order, the lawyer said.

Rashedul added that following the newspaper report, he prayed for a necessary order from the HC on Monday.

In May 2012, on the basis of a writ petition, the HC asked the government to explain why structures named after collaborators of Pakistanis should not be renamed and why they should not be directed to name those after freedom fighters.

Historian Prof Muntassir Mamun and war crimes researcher Shahriar Kabir had filed the petition.