The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has alleged that the Fulgazi upazila Chairman Ekramul Haque was killed due to an internal feud within the ruling Awami League.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the claim at a press briefing at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters in the capital, yesterday.
Mirza Fakhrul also alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office tried to blame the killing on the erstwhile opposition party by issuing a statement before conducting any investigation.
“The prime minister has been trying to put the blame of Ekramul’s killing [on BNP] to conceal the intra-party feud. After the incident, without any investigation, the PMO tried to accuse a specific person and attempted to use the killing to serve their political purpose,” the BNP spokesperson said.
Referring to various newspaper reports, Fakhrul said: “It has become clear that the killing occurred because of an intra-party feud of the ruling party.”
Ekramul Hoque Ekram, 47, a twice elected chairman of the Fulgazi upazila, was shot and burnt to death by unidentified attackers in Feni town on Tuesday.
Ekram was also president of the AL’s Fulgazi upazila unit and a member of former AL lawmaker Joynal Hazari’s steering committee. There was a longstanding dispute between Ekram and Nizamuddin Hazari, Feni district AL general secretary, over local politics.
Expressing concerns over the prevailing law and order in the country, Fakhrul said the whole nation has become worried after the Narayanganj and Fulgazi killings.
“The country has turned into a death valley. The killing in Fulgazi took place under the nose of the local administration, which shows the poor state of law and order,” Fakhrul said.
“You [government] tried heart and soul to conceal the involvement of AL men in the Narayanganj killings, but you failed. Your efforts to hide the Fulgazi killing incident will also be in vain,” he added.
The BNP leader also demanded the immediate arrest of Ekramul’s killers.
