Narsingdi Mayor Killing
Planned murder: AL
BNP terms it 'internal conflict'
Ruling out "internal conflict" behind the killing of Narsingdi municipality mayor Lokman Hossain, some senior Awami League (AL) leaders told The Daily Star yesterday that it was a "planned murder."
“We can't say anything before an investigation is done. But we believe it was a planned murder,” said Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif.
Lokman, also general secretary of Narsingdi city unit of the AL, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 10:30pm on Tuesday, about three hours after an assailant shot him in the AL office on the town's Sadar road. The killing triggered widespread violence in Narsingdi on Tuesday night and yesterday.
A number of senior AL leaders, including Hanif, AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Afzal Hossain visited Narsingdi yesterday to calm the party's aggrieved local leaders and its associated bodies known to have been loyal to Lokman.
Hanif said the ruling party was yet to understand why Lokman had been killed and so had not suspected anyone till now.
“The administration has been ordered to conduct a fair investigation to find out the killers and the reasons behind Lokman's killing,” Hanif added.
Meanwhile, the opposition BNP at a press conference yesterday claimed that Lokman had been killed following an "internal conflict" of the ruling party.
“I don't know on what basis the BNP is claiming this. Such statements can't be made unless the reasons behind the killing are dug out through an investigation,” said Hanif in his response to the BNP's claim.
AL Presidium Member Obaidul Quader said the killers, no matter who they are, would be identified and brought to book.
AL Organising Secretary Bahauddin Nasim said, “We did not hear anything regarding any internal conflict within the Narsingdi Awami League. Lokman was very popular among party leaders and workers and also among people in general.”
BNP DEMANDS RELEASE OF KHOKON
The BNP yesterday demanded the release of its education affairs secretary and Narsingdi district unit president Khairul Kabir Khokon, who was arrested earlier in connection with the killing of the mayor.
The main opposition party also blamed the internal conflicts of ruling Awami League for the killing of Lokman.
“Lokman Hossain was killed following a ruling party's factional clash. But they now want to pass the blame on to others,” said BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a press briefing at the party's central office.
Khokon's wife Shirin Sultana, also general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal, the women's wing of the BNP, was present.
Both Rizvi and Shirin alleged that the authorities were not informing them about Khokon's whereabouts hours after his arrest.
"Police picked up Khokon from his residence at Khilgaon in the city around 03:00am yesterday. Since then, we have not been able to know of his whereabouts even after communicating with the state minister for home, the Dhaka police commissioner and other high officials,” Rizvi alleged.
Shirin said there was no case against her husband. The police could not even give them any reason behind the arrest of Khokon.
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