Journalist Shafik Rehman arrest

AL, BNP engage in war of words

Shafik was part of a conspiracy to kill Joy: Obaidul; bid to divert attention from BB heist, Tonu murder: Fakhrul

A war of words broke out between the ruling Awami League (AL) and the BNP yesterday over the arrest of senior journalist Shafik Rehman.
While road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader insisted that Rehman was part of a conspiracy to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s only son Sajib Wazed Joy, BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that the arrest was the government’s attempt to divert attention from the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist and the Tonu murder case. On the oter hand, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam felt that the reports claiming that Rehman had ‘confessed’ to police about his involvement in the plot should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Talking to reporters at the Secretariat yesterday, Quader said, “Joy is the future leader of the AL. The conspirators tried to make the party vulnerable by killing him. An FBI investigation has made everything clear.”
He claimed that the conspirators had resorted to the murder conspiracy after failing in open politics. “Rehman was arrested on specific allegations,” Quader said, insisting that there was no political motive behind Rehman’s arrest.
“His arrest was based on the statements of several people convicted at a US federal court, where they mentioned his involvement in the conspiracy,” the minister said, referring to the FBI report.
The AL presidium member said the plot to murder Joy was the latest bid to wipe out Bangabandhu’s clan. Apparently, the documents police found during a raid at Rehman’s house revealed this. He added, though, that they were not treating the former editor of ‘Jai Jai Din’ as guilty until the court convicted him.
Quader also pointed out that it was a sensitive issue since the plot had been hatched to kill the “architect of the country’s ICT revolution”.
“Those who are speaking out for Rehman, including the BNP, cannot avoid responsibility for conspiring to abduct Joy either,” he said.
The BNP, in its turn, attacked the government by saying that the arrest proved that it was “nervous”.
Speaking at a discussion organised yesterday by the National People’s Party in protest against Rehman’s arrest, BNP spokesperson Fakhrul said, “Whenever the government faces a problem over an issue, it creates another issue for the people. When people started raising their voice against the (college student Sohagi Jahan) Tonu murder case and the Bangladesh Bank heist, the government arrested Rehman in order to divert their attention.”
He claimed that the 81-year-old Rehman and ‘Amar Desh’ acting editor Mahmudur Rahman were not involved in the “conspiracy” of abducting Joy.

 

 

 

Journalist Shafik Rehman arrest

AL, BNP engage in war of words

Shafik was part of a conspiracy to kill Joy: Obaidul; bid to divert attention from BB heist, Tonu murder: Fakhrul

A war of words broke out between the ruling Awami League (AL) and the BNP yesterday over the arrest of senior journalist Shafik Rehman. While road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader insisted that Rehman was part of a conspiracy to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas only son Sajib Wazed Joy, BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that the arrest was the governments attempt to divert attention from the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist and the Tonu murder case. On the oter hand, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam felt that the reports claiming that Rehman had confessed to police about his involvement in the plot should be taken with a pinch of salt. Talking to reporters at the Secretariat yesterday, Quader said, Joy is the future leader of the AL. The conspirators tried to make the party vulnerable by killing him. An FBI investigation has made everything clear. He claimed that the conspirators had resorted to the murder conspiracy after failing in open politics. Rehman was arrested on specific allegations, Quader said, insisting that there was no political motive behind Rehmans arrest. His arrest was based on the statements of several people convicted at a US federal court, where they mentioned his involvement in the conspiracy, the minister said, referring to the FBI report. The AL presidium member said the plot to murder Joy was the latest bid to wipe out Bangabandhus clan. Apparently, the documents police found during a raid at Rehmans house revealed this. He added, though, that they were not treating the former editor of Jai Jai Din as guilty until the court convicted him. Quader also pointed out that it was a sensitive issue since the plot had been hatched to kill the architect of the countrys ICT revolution. Those who are speaking out for Rehman, including the BNP, cannot avoid responsibility for conspiring to abduct Joy either, he said. The BNP, in its turn, attacked the government by saying that the arrest proved that it was nervous. Speaking at a discussion organised yesterday by the National Peoples Party in protest against Rehmans arrest, BNP spokesperson Fakhrul said, Whenever the government faces a problem over an issue, it creates another issue for the people. When people started raising their voice against the (college student Sohagi Jahan) Tonu murder case and the Bangladesh Bank heist, the government arrested Rehman in order to divert their attention. He claimed that the 81-year-old Rehman and Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman were not involved in the conspiracy of abducting Joy.