I was chatting with some of political friends today evening, some of my friends are hard-core BNP minded. They challenged me to show them some of the news links by which I can prove Tarique Rahman a corrupted guy. I laughed at them and told them if they had any eyes to see , they only could see news of Tarique’s corruption.

While thinking to give my friends some of the news or blog post links, I thought why I should not archive them in a post so that people can see them at a glance.

Oh my God!!! I just googled by the key word “Corruption of Tarique Rahman”, I got thousands of news links as well blog posts. How can I archive them?

A video clip.
I tried them to categorized into three types; news links, article links and blog posts; but it would turn more pages to cover them up. That’s why I am just archiving few of them. I don’t know if the corruption archives of Tarique Rahman could open my friends’ eyes.

-The Prince of Bogra by Tasneem Khalil.

-The Story of Anarchist Tarique Rahman by Prothom Alo.

- One more corruption case against Khaleda Zia, son by Hamropalo.com.

- Tarique Rahman sued for evading tax by The New Age.

-Tarique Rahman’s Dawood Ibrahim underworld links by Hasibul Haque, Blogger News Network.

-An apology to Tarique Rahman by The Daily Star.

-The rise and fall of Tarique Rahman by Zafar Sobhan.

-Tarique Rahman – flawed heir apparent? by By Alastair Lawson, BBC News, March 8, 2007.

-NBR rejects Tarique, Koko’s bid to legalise money by Bangladesh News.

-Tarique took millions out of country by the Daily Star.

-হাওয়ায় মিলিয়ে গেছে তারেকের ছায়াসঙ্গীরা!, দৈনিক যুগান্তর।

- ১২ শীর্ষ ব্যবসায় বেনামে অংশীদারিত্ব ।। ব্যবসার জন্য মামুন ও সেলিমকে তারেক রহমান দিয়েছিলেন ৫৮২ কোটি টাকা , আমাদের সময়।

- বিদেশী ব্যাংকে তারেকের দুই হাজার কোটিরও বেশি টাকা , দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক।

-তারেক-মামুন দু’বন্ধুর ব্যবসা আর দুর্নীতি চলেছে সমানতালে, দৈনিক যুগান্তর।

- তারেক রহমানকে ‘মামা’ ডাকতেন বাংলাভাই, দৈনিক ভোরের কাগজ।

-রাজনীতিবিদ-কর্মকর্তাদের ২৪৩ কোটি টাকা ঘুষ দিয়েছেন ঠিকাদাররা, দৈনিক নয়া দিগন্ত।

-দুর্নীতির রাজপুত্র, দৈনিক যুগান্তর।

Well, I had more links which can be shown to my friends to open their eyes. I have more with Tarique’s younger brother’s corruption here for my friends too. But I don’t want my friends to get upset to read more about their prince of corruption in Bangladesh.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor of E-Bangladesh.

Members of the Bangladesh Armed Forces prepare to return to the barracks as the Caretaker Government decides to withdraw the army from across the country. Dhaka, November 05 2008. Photo:Munir uz Zaman, DrikNEWS.

The festive mood has returned to the country. The two battling begums have exchanged pleasantries breaking all the ice. Finally the all-inclusive national election is nearing. The Candidates have already started their campaign. The people are busy permuting and combining their assumptions as who is going to rule them next. Overall they are satisfied because the Caretaker Government has kept their promise and are expected to hand over the power to the elected government. The military is going back to the barracks.

The script is perfect so far. If it is followed, Bangladesh is going to be a wonderful example of an implied democracy in the world. But there are some incidents happening alongside which are so disturbing that one fears it could turn the whole progress upside down. These are happening simultaneously, in regular intervals. A part of the media alleged to be the spokesman of the military backed caretaker government (CTG) is fueling these controversies.

Lets look back a few weeks ago. A bunch of hoodlums ran havoc in the premises of the Zia International Airport. In the banner of a religious joint they demolished the sculpture of Lalon Shah- an Icon of Bangladeshi culture. Showdowns like these are totally forbidden in the emergency rule, which is true for most political parties, but it happened there and escalated further. Mufti Fazlul Haq Amini, who actually leads the Qaumi madrashas with the dream of an Islamic revolution in Bangladesh held a press conference and threatened that if elected, they are going to destroy each and every sculptures in the country along with the monuments of our liberation war. He even dared to abuse the Shikha Anirban- the flame of eternity burning as the symbol of our independence. Not to mention he has used unpleasantly words against the incumbent advisors of the CTG. curiously, he simply got away with it with even no questions asked!

In a separate incident the students of Alia Madras has, most of whom are members of Jamaat-e-Islamis’s student wing Islami Chatra Shibir made a chaos in Dhaka university area. They picketed and injured general students to press a demand regarding their admission quota in the university. Many thought that it was staged to put a pressure on the CTG to drop down the arrest warrant of the Jamaat leader war criminal Ali Ahsan Mujahid as it coincided with the time. People were alarmed that these were the threats that could disturb the peaceful living and stability of the country again which was absent during the emergency rule.

Amidst the election vibe, another dramatic story is unfolding. A few days back we were informed that the banned extremist group Jamaatul Mujahedin of Bangladesh (JMB) had re-united and are planning a mass violence. Tipped by intelligence authorities security forces arrested some militants and have discovered their dangerous blue print. A couple of days back the CID concluded that the Harkat ul Jihad al Islami (Huji) were indeed involved in the 2001 bomb blasting at Ramna Batmul and the final report is going to be submitted along within a few days accusing 14 of the militant leaders. On June 11, 2008 charges were finally made against 22 persons including top Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu for the grenade attacks on Sheikh Hasina on 21st august 2004. Though Mufti Hannan is behind the bar, it is widely known that he still rules the militants and operates them from there.

The latest news is the Government has warned Awami league leader Sheikh Hasina about her vulnerable security system. Even Khaleda Zia and other VIP candidates are equally informed to tighten their security. There are posters all across Bangladesh from extremist groups condemning Awami League and BNP. A recent poster by Hizbut Tahrir says “stop the politics of Awami League and BNP who are pawns of USA and India. Engage in the politics to establish Khilafat in the country.”

We really don’t know whether all of these are really a part of the puzzle. But we can predict what such an assassination threat can mean to the nation from the example of Pakistan. During the fag end of military rule when Pakistan was nearing the elections, the militants assassinated the popular politician Benazir Bhutto, who returned from exile to take part in the elections and was tipped to be the winner. Although the incident didn’t bring any positive result to general Musharraf and he could not stop quitting the office. But it was alleged that the militants were used by the military and possibly with the help of some foreign intelligence agency to prolong their rule.

In Bangladesh, a likely occurrence can easily happen if those extremist forces are not strongly dealt with. The failure of the government to take actions against those who use religion to force their political agenda and thereby giving them impunity can have drastic results. Let us not take back the country in the dark ages for the sake of power play and averting controversial issues to remain popular. It will bring disastrous consequences to the country.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor, E-Bangladesh.

[Read posts by Sushanta Das Gupta]

Recently he released his first two animated cartoons in his Facebook space. The first one is named as “A Flower”:

And the second one is named as “A Sky Crash”:

The cartoons tell us lot of things about our life. You will be amazed to watch them.

It is important to encourage him to keep going with his normal drawing activities and to bring him in normal life.

Please share your messages to him in the comments section.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor, E-Bangladesh.

No wonder that the ‘Prothom Alo’, which is publicly established as ‘the parliament’ of this military-backed Government, killed the letter and labelled it red to uphold their so called credibility just to regulate their corporate interests for the time ahead.

But ‘unfortunately’ the letter and the scandal are now flying in the open. Because Dr. Anwar Hossain published it on 28 July in Chittagong while giving a speech to the general people and freedom fighters who gathered to form a human chain in front of the Shaheed Minar demanding the trial of the war-criminals of 1971. It was organized by ‘Ekatturer Ghatok-Dalal Nirmul Committee, Chittagong. The human-chain was a memorable event, because freedom fighter Sheikh Mohammad Ali Aman, who was recently assaulted by the followers of the collaborators of the liberation war for telling the truth about their activities, had participated.

[Speech of Dr. Anwar]

And though the Government have done nothing to console the brave freedom fighter, Dr. Anwar Hossain gave him the honour by disclosing a short description about the corruption at the Chittagong Customs House by some army officers. As we were being told by him, a packet was delivered at his office at the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Dhaka University. It contained the copy of the letter sent by an employee of the Chittagong Customs House.

In the letter the sender(s) says that a group of Army officers who were given the responsibility of reforming the Chittagong Customs House were engaged in severe forms of corruption. The group is led by Brigadier General Nasir Hasan and includes Major Tarikul, Major Quddus, Captain Arif, Captain Moyeen, Captain Delwar etc. This group has already collected over 15 crore Taka from various businessmen, importers, stock holders and CNF Agents of Chittagong in the form of ‘chada’ or extortion.

The long letter told the story about how the face of the crusaders against the corruption has been fading away. It also recalls the nightmares of the past, the long army regime who turned corruption in to the form of an institution. The army-corruption in Chittagong Custom House is in fact tip on the iceberg! We don’t know what the reaction of Gen. Moyeen U Ahmed, his neutral Caretaker Government and their domestic parliament, named ‘Prothom Alo’. But people were really happy to see Hossain’s way of honouring the freedom fighter Aman. He congratulated him for being in the centre of the collaborators like the war days and telling the whole truth about their activities and demanding their punishment.

Dr. Anwar took it as a good omen as people are reacting. But alongside Anwar warned about the Governments real intentions as their recent activities show as if they are actually protecting the war criminals. If so, Aman was only an instance, because a million Amans are there who would do anything to uphold the true spirit of 1971. And the consequence will be vague.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor, E-Bangladesh.

Photo- Shafiq Islam, Bogra/*Drik*NEWS.

Dead Dolphins are found on the sea beach of Cox’s Bazaar. Dogs are eating those dead Dolphins. More than fifty dead dolphins found from last week at the same place. No Government official has been commented yet why this is happening. Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Bangladesh. April 24 2008.

Photo- Mohammad Islam, Cox Bazar/*Drik*NEWS.

Rice shop at Kawran Bazar. Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo-Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Alma earns Taka 2000 to 2500 per day by begging. However, she has to pay 700 taka per month as house rent. Since her husband’s death seven years ago she says she is helpless with her nine years-old physically handicapped boy Almas. These recent days have been very difficult for her since she can neither manage food, house rent nor buy medicine for her ill child. She says she has heard that the government has special allowance for disabled children and she has been trying to enlist her son’s name with the local chairman who has continuously refused her request. Kamrangirchar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Mafizur Rahman, who was once a carpenter, cannot work since his accident caused by a truck. His eldest son is the sole breadwinner of a family of seven. As his son is a day laborer even there are days he cannot earn a single penny. His monthly income varies from 2000 to 3500 taka per month and with a house rent of 700 taka per month it has now become impossible to survive when rice costs taka 35 to 50 per kilogram. Kamrangirchar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

After a long time Shakil has come to visit his grandmother’s house where his mother Salma used to rear goats. But over the last few months the price of goat food has doubled reduces scope for profit. The income from this source is also gradually dwindling.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Dal at a grocer’s shop at Kawran Bazar. Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik/NEWS.  

“Tell the government to kill us. Rice costs 50 taka and news reports yesterday stated that it is soon going to be 70!” mourns Fulbanu, who has to support her family of seven members with taka 4500 per month. Dholpur , Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Mohammad Amirul Islam a forty five years old rickshaw puller earns about 6000 taka per month. He could have earned more if he didnÂ’t have to pay more money to the rickshaw owner on the pretext of recent price hike. Once he had planned to own his own rickshaw but now that is only wishful thinking as he faces trouble in maintaining his family with only his limited income. Kamrangirchar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Minara begum (40) works in a day care centre in a slum. Her husband pulls rickshaw and together they earn seven thousand taka per month. But what with the house rent and other expenses it has become impossible for them to stay in this city with such a high price of daily necessities. Price of daily necessities is increasing but not their income. Dholpur, Dhaka , Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Oil shop at Kawran Bazar.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Asma (35) pays 3800 taka for her one room. Her husband Sultan Molla (now admitted in a hospital) used to work as a driver of a private car. Her elder son earns the same as his father (7000 taka per month). Asma says she has not been able to pay tuition fees of her children for the last two months. She has already borrowed some money from her neighbors. Sukrabad, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Rashida Begum (45) sells tea and other groceries in a temporary roadside shop. “The money I earn from this shop is not enough. If I buy rice then I find I have no money to buy vegetables. In the past even during our worst days we did not face such problems. At least we could buy rice and some vegetables then.” Rashida earns 6000 to 7000 taka per month. She has to pay 2800 taka for house rent which has increased in the last two months on the pretext of increase in prices. With the rest of the income she can not manage either food for the family or medicine for her husband. Sukrabad, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

“Yesterday I went to BDR market to buy rice. I had to wait for five hours only to return empty handed. To save 10 taka per kilo I just lost my five hours which I could have used to earn more,” says Munni, a thirteen years old girl who works in a brush factory to support her family of nine members. Both she and her younger brother Dulal together earn nearly 2000 taka per month. With food as the main item on their budget she cannot even imagine to save money for her paralyzed fathers’ treatment. Kamrangirchar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photo- Tanvir Ahmed/*Drik*NEWS.

Photo: Md. Tawfik

[Sushanta Das Gupta, UK]

I just came through an email alert that was sent as a comment in one of our posts. While I was moderating it I thought it might be posted as a separate thread. It speaks about the illegal detention of Md. Tawfiq by DGFI for nearly four days. Md. Tawfiq was called in 4th of March around 10 PM and kept behind all of the sights until 7th of March. Few people might call one of our reports which stated the final list of 80 people as part of the drive against high-profile corruption suspects declared by the national coordination committee on corruption and serious crimes (NCC). We found the name of Md. Towfik in the published lists in other categories. But the issue  discussed here is not the corruption, it is the issue whether a citizen of Bangladesh can be detained illegally for four days or not.

Md. Tawfiq, a director of Bangladesh telegraph and Telephone Board, was called by DGFI on 4th of March ,Tuesday around 10 PM to see them in their Dhaka cantonment headquarters. As a law abiding citizen, he went there and for the next 4 days, there was no information on him from the DGFI as I was informed by an authenticated source. Not even his wife or family was informed of his location or condition which is a blatant violation of Bangladesh Constitution.

On the 7th March, he was produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate by Ramna police station. He was shown arrest under Article 54 (suspicious activity) and was said that he was arrested from his residence on the same day. That is to say that his illegal detention by DGFI for nearly four days where he was tortured severely was kept secret from the court.

His wife, in a press release yesterday, mentioned that she saw signs of torture in the uncovered areas of his body when she saw him in the court and asked the President and the chief advisor of the caretaker government of Bangladesh to save the life of her husband.
 
A fabricated false report was published in some Bangladesh newspapers on the 8th March alleging that Tawfiq was involved in illegal VOIP business in Bangladesh. The report is full of inconsistencies, doesn’t hold any truth, and the allegations falls apart even at the tiniest scrutiny.

It appears that Md. Tawfiq is the victim of some vested interest group in BTTB and Caretaker Government who took the advantage of current lawless situation in Bangladesh to realize some big plan in the telecom sector of Bangladesh.

The eye raising questions are:

1. If he was arrested by Ramna police on Thursday and was produced before the court next day, when did the joint forces interrogate him to find all the information that was published against him?

2. If the allegations published by the joint forces were true, why he wasn’t charged by any one of them?

3. Why he was picked up by DGFI and tortured  without any judicial procedure?

4. Why the police shown him arrest four days after he was detained by DGFI on no apparent allegation against him (Article 54 is just suspicious activity and is bailable).

5. Who is responsible for his illegal custody and torture by DGFI?

It appears that Bangladesh has become a country of torture under the present caretaker government where no law and human right exists as mentioned in the chilling testimony of Human Rights Watch Journalist Tasneem Khalil  who was kidnapped and tortured by the DGFI people in the same way as Tawfiq. The people in power, mainly, the DGFI are working with impunity like the Gestapo to pick up anyone at their will, torture, and then fabricated anything against them without any judicial processes involved.

Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, in his letter to Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed  urged that Bangladesh has obligation under international law to stop torture and to make the protection of human rights as much of a priority as its fight against corruption. Adams emphasized that the caretaker government should discipline or prosecute, as appropriate, members of the security forces, including the DGFI, the army and paramilitary forces such as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police and other government officials, regardless of rank, who have been responsible for arbitrary arrests and torture or other mistreatment of persons in detention.

It’s an unrest request to all concerned Bangladeshi citizen to put forward this news and pressure the caretaker government to save the life of Tawfiq and thousands of other innocent people who dont have any one to stand for them.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor, E-Bangladesh.

[Read posts by Sushanta Das Gupta]

[Sushanta Das Gupta, UK]

Reporters Without Borders has released their 2008 Annual Report on Bangladesh. Among their major concerns this year are the rise of the military government, the lack of freedom of press, threats to media personnel and the torture of journalists:

Bangladesh – Annual report 2008
Area: 144,000 sq km.
Population: 144,460,000.
Languages: Bengali, English.
Head of state: Iajuddin Ahmed.

A drop in the number of physical assaults and death threats was eclipsed by dozens of cases of arrests, maltreatment and censorship committed by the army against independent journalists. The interim government and the military put an end to political disorder but at the price of serious violations of press freedom.

There was a sharp decrease in the number of journalists physically attacked or receiving death threats from political militants and criminals. On the other hand, arrests increased markedly, with almost 40 cases in 2007. And the army, the real power in the country, committed serious press freedom violations aimed at silencing independent journalists. The government constantly stated that the media had a role to play in the fight against corruption and social injustice, but these good intentions were confounded and, in a new development, self-censorship began gradually to be applied to political issues. “Some asserted that the media was becoming the parliament in the absence of a government formed by elections. Others welcomed the emergence of a fourth estate. But one thing in the media was missing: critical articles on the current administration, clearly demonstrating the existence of censorship and self-censorship”, the Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC), a Reporters Without Borders partner organisation, said in one of its recent reports.

Censorship imposed at every political convulsion

A state of emergency was declared on 11 January and the country’s TV and radio were ordered to stop broadcasting their news programmes for two days. When the government faced student demonstrations at the end of August, it banned stations from broadcasting talk shows and political programmes. Army intelligence services officers summoned editorial heads and threatened them with draconian criminal proceeding, including under Article 5 of the State of Emergency Regulations. CSB News and Ekushey TV were ordered by the Press Information Department not to broadcast “provocative” reports and commentaries. A management figure at ATN Bangla told Reporters Without Borders, “The ban on talk shows is a disaster. While there is no parliament, political broadcasts are the best way for citizens to comment on the government’s decisions.”

Privately-owned television stations, which enjoy growing popularity in the country, were the main target of crackdowns. The government in September ordered the suspension of CSB News whose management had allegedly forged a document to obtain a frequency in October 2006, and police closed the station, but the decision was probably linked to the broadcast of footage of opposition demonstrations, in defiance of warnings from the authorities. According to the Daily Star, members of the government even accused the station of inciting students to demonstrate in Dhaka.

The written press did its best to resist pressure from the authorities. Mahfuz Anam, editor of the privately-owned Daily Star, said in an editorial in January, “As long as we have not received a written order from the government, we will consider them illegal (…) Friends of democracy never silence the press, it is only done by dictators. The people of Bangladesh will never accept dictators”. But in September, the management of Prothom Alo was forced to apologise and to sack the deputy editor of its humoristic supplement, Aalpin, under pressure from conservative clergy after cartoonist Arifur Rahman drew a sketch which included wordplay on the name Mohammed, gently poking fun at the habit of people in some Muslim countries of putting the name Mohammed before their usual name. Police arrested him and seized all copies of the magazine, which was accused of “hurting the people’s religious sentiment”. The copies were ritually burned in front of one of the capital’s mosques.

During the year, privately-owned dailies, such as Prothom Alo, Inqilab, Amader Shomoy, Jugantor, Daily Star and Shamokal were also victims of judicial harassment. The newspapers had to employ a large number of lawyers to keep their editors and journalist out of prison in the face of around 100 defamation suits.

Journalists tortured by members of the military

Several journalists were tortured for investigating the security forces. Tasneem Khalil, journalist and blogger (tasneemkhalil.com), was detained and tortured in May after openly criticising the army for the spread of extra-judicial killings. The Human Rights Watch consultant and contributor to CNN was forced to flee the country. Jahangir Alam Akash, correspondent for the newspaper Sangbad, and for CSB News and German radio Deutsche Welle in Rajshahi, who had been investigating the ‘execution’ by the army of a student leader, was arrested by soldiers on 24 October. He was released on bail on 19 November and spoke about the hell he had lived through at an army camp. “Officers and soldiers tortured me for several hours: electric shocks, blows to my legs. I couldn’t walk for a week,” he said.

Police, acting under emergency laws, arrested two journalists in March in Moulvibazar in the north-east, after local politicians laid a defamation case against him. A correspondent for the Daily Star, Asduzzaman Tipu, spent one month in prison after being falsely accused of extortion.

No fewer than 15 journalists were arrested on the same evening when a curfew was imposed in August and around 30 others were beaten by police and soldiers deployed in the capital. The chief news editor of the privately-owned Baishakhi TV, Anis Alamgir, was beaten up by soldiers, while a photographer with the daily Dinkal was seriously injured by police. The authorities apologised by nobody was punished for the assaults.

On the other hand, the anti-crime struggle allowed the arrest of suspects in the murders of journalist Gautam Das in 2005 and of Shamsur Rhaman in 2000. And several politicians, including Shahidul Islam, former member of Parliament from the Kushtia region, responsible for attacks on journalists in 2006, were taken into custody.

Although weakened, Jihadist groups continued to threaten journalists. An Islamist group threatened an attack on the Jatiya press club in May and in April extremists sent a letter containing death threats to a journalist on the daily Bhorer Kagoj, in Chittagong in the south-east of the country.

Finally, even though no journalist was killed for their work in 2007, the authorities did not fully clear up the circumstances of the death in March of Jamal Uddin, correspondent for the news agency Abas and local newspaper Dainik Giri Darpan, in Rangamati in the south-east, whom the authorities said had committed suicide. The president of the Rangamati press club said the journalist’s body bore marks of blows all over his body, which had been found lying at the foot of a tree, with a rope around his neck.

Reporters Without Borders has also published the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007. Bangladesh ranks 134th amongst 169 countries.

The International Media have shown growing concern over the recent rise in human rights violations in Bangladesh. One thing is evident, that no matter how much secrecy the military government tries to impose over its violation of human rights, the world is hearing about it. Because of the ready availability of information due to the internet and other channels of communication, we can now learn about the misrulings and outrages committed by this military government.

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Sushanta Das Gupta is the Editor, E-Bangladesh.

[Read posts by Sushanta Das Gupta]

Sheikh Hasina, former premier and detained Awami League president, on Saturday expressed her disagreement to get medical treatment in the country as she feared threat on her life.

Hasina expressed the disagreement to her personal physician ABM Abdullah when he went to give her a check-up in the special jail set up at the Sangsad Bhaban’s premises in the morning.

‘The former prime minister is afraid of taking treatment in the country on security grounds and wants to go abroad for treatment,’ Abdullah told E-Bangladesh on Saturday.

The Awami League’s presidium on Saturday said the party, if the government agrees, would arrange in the USA the treatment of Sheikh Hasina’s ears which were badly damaged due to the deafening sound of the explosion of grenades launched on her rally on August 22, 2004.

Terming the present condition of Sheikh Hasina ‘very ill’, physician Abdullah said that he had visited her in response to the jail authority’s request and tried to make her understand the necessity of her immediate treatment.

During the one and a half hour of check-up, Hasina told him that she feared attempts on her life, pointing out the various assassination attempts that had taken place on her in the past, said Abdullah.

‘Moreover, she has been taking treatment abroad for a long time and proper treatment for her ear complaint is not possible in the country,’ he said.

The doctor said Hasina has been suffering from dust allergy but her blood pressure was under control on Saturday.

He also said that Hasina’s hearing aid has gone out of order totally and it is not possible to repair it in the country.

‘The hearing aid is the latest state-of the art device made in the United States which cannot be repaired in Bangladesh,’ Abdullah added.

He, however, said that the AL president has complete faith in the four-member medical board formed by the jail authority for her treatment.

Abdullah, chairman of the medicine department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said that he had advised the jail authorities to get Sheikh Hasina admitted to the hospital for proper medical treatment.

‘If she gets admitted to the hospital we will visit her round the clock, but now we can visit her only when allowed by the jail authority,’ he said.

Awami League’s acting president Zillur Rahman strongly demanded that the government should arrange necessary treatment for Hasina as per her desire, and said his party was ready to foot the bill for her treatment abroad if the government gives the green-light.

‘The physical condition of our president is very bad. America is the best place for her treatment. We will take the responsibility for her treatment abroad if the government allows her to go to America,’ Zillur told reporters at his Gulshan residence in the morning.

He also refuted the government’s justification that a detainee could not be allowed to go abroad for treatment and cited the example of Rab (ASM Abdur Rab, leader of a faction of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal) who was permitted to go abroad for treatment while still in detention.

‘It is a feeble excuse that detainees cannot be allowed to get overseas treatment. When I was in jail along with Rab, the government allowed him to go abroad for treatment,’ Zillur pointed out.