AL, BNP trade blame for Khulna leader's murder

The district and city units of the AL also denied their part in the violence that erupted in the metropolitan city after the killing of Imam by assailants on his way to work on Monday.

The murder sparked a wave of violent protests that ended up in public property damage and attacks on BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami offices and residence of BNP lawmaker Ali Asgar Lobi.

None of the killers belongs to the AL and its front organisations and the main opposition party has no link to those involved in the violence, AL leaders said.

They accused the alliance of plotting elimination of pro-liberation forces and alleged the murder was part of a conspiracy by BNP-Jamaat that fears a defeat in the next parliamentary elections from Khulna-2, the constituency of the slain AL leader.

The AL vowed to resist any move to implicate any of its leaders in the murder case. "We will force the government to punish the killers," said one of the leaders.

The AL leaders said three 'false' cases were filed with Khulna, Khalishpur and Daulatpur police stations against 32 members of the AL and Jubo League, on charge of violence and vandalism.

Talukdar Abul Khaleque, city AL general secretary, denied links to any crime gang and Mostafa Rashidi Suja, AL district general secretary, condemned the role of administration in dealing with the case.

Mannujan Abu Sufian, AL central committee member and former lawmaker, Shaikh Harunur Rashid, president of district AL, and Shaikh Yunus Ali, senior vice-president of city AL, among others, attended the press conference.

Khulna district and city units of the four-party alliance at another press conference denied the AL allegation of masterminding the murder. "It is a blatant lie. We condemn such falsification by local AL leaders," said city BNP Secretary Nazrul Islam Manju.

Manju, paying tributes to Imam, said none of the alliance partners had enmity with Imam and described him as a much-revered politician in Khulna.

City BNP President M Nurul Islam, attending the press conference, said the four-party alliance showed extreme tolerance by not retaliating against the attacks on their party offices.

Jamaat city Ameer Mia Golam Parwar and Jatiya Party (N) city President Latifur Rahman Labu were also present.

The 48-hour hartal since Wednesday enforced by Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee ended yesterday without any untoward incident in the city.