Akramul Haque

Slain Awami League leader Akramul Haque's wife has said she was living in fear.

Ayesha Begum told The Daily Star that she was under pressure from different quarters but did give further details.

She added that strangers kept calling her on the phone and she was too scared to answer.

“Who will give us safety now?” Ayesha said.

Akram's elder brother Nazrul Alam also said everyone in the family was living in fear.

“I think they are keeping track of who are coming to our house. Some strangers are suspiciously hanging around our house,” he said, adding that the family will go to court to file a case.

Teknaf poura councillor Akramul Haque was killed in what Rab claimed was a gunfight between the elite force and drug dealers in Cox's Bazar on May 27.

Ayesha, however, alleged at a press conference at Cox's Bazar Press Club on Thursday that her husband was murdered in cold blood. She gave journalists four unverified audio clips of chilling conversations in support of her claim.

Ayesha plans to write a letter to the prime minister seeking justice.

Her two daughters Tahiyat and Nahiyan were taken to a hospital in Chittagong yesterday. Doctors recommended psychotherapy for the traumatised girls.

“They will need regular therapy. The psychiatrist asked me not to talk about the incident in front of them,” she said.

Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra in a statement urged the government to ensure the family's safety.

AUDIO CLIP BEING VERIFIED

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said officials were looking into the audio clips provided by Akram's wife to reporters.

The audio clips are now being collected and a team led by a magistrate is looking into it, Asaduzzaman told reporters at an anti-drug awareness campaign in the capital's Stamford University.

The Daily Star covered Ayesha's press conference on the front page on Friday. The audio clips were available for streaming online.  

After the news published, The Daily Star website was blocked for almost 18 hours since Friday night. It was unblocked after instructions from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

According to our findings, the news made a certain quarter unhappy, prompting it to press the telecom regulator to block the news item with the URL: https:// www.thedailystar.net/ frontpage/murder-it-was-1584580.

Meanwhile, the autopsy report of Akram has been prepared and will be sent to Teknaf Police Station and the civil surgeon's office in a couple of days, Shahin Abdur Rahman, resident medical officer of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, said.

Shahin said he was shot twice in his chest and once in the stomach.

The doctor said he was not sure if Akram was shot from behind and refused to tell whether Akram was shot at close range. “We would tell if the court asks.”

There were no other injury marks on the body, the doctor said, adding Akram died of excessive bleeding.

Also yesterday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at another event at Bangabandhu International Convention Center said if Akram turned out to be innocent, those who labelled him as a drug dealer would be brought to justice.

About alleged yaba godfathers, including lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi, the minister said he would not be spared if allegations against him were proven.

He said the anti-narcotics drive would continue.

“We will not bow down to any external pressure. The United Nations and our foreign friends may observe the drive as they have a right to do so,” he said.

He also said the anti-narcotics drive would continue.

A total of 131 alleged drug peddlers were killed in “gunfights” during the ongoing anti-drug drive that began on May 4.

Ain O Salish Kendra yesterday demanded judicial enquiry into the so-called gunfights and demanded immediate end to the "gunfights" in the name of anti-narcotics drives.

“ASK is strongly urging the government to put an end to extrajudicial killings in order to ensure rule of law and human rights,” ASK said in a press release.