Detained Jamaat leader with Tk 50 lakh hospitalised

Thakurgaon district Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Belal Uddin, who was detained with Tk 50 lakh at Nilphamari’s Saidpur Airport, has been admitted to Saidpur Hospital after falling ill during questioning.

He was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the airport on Wednesday. Earlier, he arrived in Saidpur by air at around 11:00 am.

Nazmul Huda, Resident Medical Officer of the hospital, said, “No sign of a heart attack was found in the Jamaat leader after conducting medical tests. An ECG was performed, but no indication of a heart attack was detected. He has been referred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for further evaluation.”

Additional law enforcers were deployed in and around the hospital to avoid any untoward incident.

District Superintendent of Police (SP) Sheikh Zahidul Islam said Belal Uddin was detained with approximately Tk 50 lakh in cash. “He later felt unwell during interrogation and was sent to the hospital,” the SP said, adding that further details would be disclosed later.

Speaking at a hurriedly arranged press conference at the party’s central office in Dhaka, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and chief of its Central Publicity and Media Department, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, claimed the incident was politically motivated.

He alleged that the arrest of Thakurgaon district Jamaat Amir with Tk 50 lakh at Saidpur Airport was “a drama staged by law enforcement agencies” to malign the party ahead of the 13th national parliamentary elections.

With inputs from UNB