Fakhrul questions about Sayedee’s treatment before death at BSMMU

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has raised question whether war crime convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee received ‘proper treatment’ before his death.

Fakhrul raised the question while speaking at a doa mahfil and discussion as the chief guest at Mirza uhul Amin Auditorium in Thakurgaon early Wednesday afternoon.
The doa mahfil was arranged seeking BNP Chaiperson Khaleda Zia’s early recovery from illness.

The 86-year-old Sayedee died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital at 8:30pm on Monday while underwent treatment there under police custody.

In this regard, Prof Dr SM Mustafa Zaman of the Dept of Cardiology, BSMMU, said, “He (Sayedee) was on life support. There were five stents in his heart from earlier. He suffered another heart attack at 6:45pm on Monday.

“We called in his son. We discussed whether his incubation tubes of life support would be opened. Then he was pronounced dead at 8:30pm.”

Prof Mustafa Zaman further said that they treated Sayedee properly and fulfilled all the tasks rightly. Doctors did not give him any wrong treatment, he said.

“However, baseless rumours targeting me were circulated online. Many even issued death threats on social media,” he added.

About the Jamaat leader, the BNP Secretary General said, “I won’t talk about his political career. However, he was a noted alem. We must pay respect to him.”

“We don’t find any news in the newspapers that he (Sayedee) had received proper medical treatment. We don’t know whether the punishment he had received for the crimes can be called justice, because there are many questions over this trial at both home and abroad. The trial didn’t happen as per the international standards,” he said.

Alleging that the government has now indulged in a drama over militants, Fakhrul said, “Keeping the next general elections ahead, the Awami League ministers have started saying that nobody cares whether BNP takes part in the election or not. They also say that BNP would indulge in subversive acts and arson attacks. You’ve seen the same drama a few days ago. What was that drama?”

“Suddenly, 10 people have been arrested after raid into a village. Of them, six were women and four children. What were their crimes? They have given shelters to militants. Explosives were also allegedly found there. Do you believe it?”

On August 12 last, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said 10 people were detained in a raid on a suspected militant hideout in a remote hilly area under Kulaura Police Station in Moulvibazar district.

Following the raid, the CTTC unit’s head Mohammad Asaduzzaman said the arrested hailed from different districts of the country. There were three children among them.

BNP Secretary General said, “They (government) had announced earlier that there was no militant in the country. They claimed that militancy was completely eradicated from the country. If it is true, how so many militants have come suddenly.”

“So, anti-militant drive and arrest of militants is their old dramas. They won’t be able to make people fool by doing these,” he said.