BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has demanded justice for the killing of Jubo Dal leader Tohidul Islam in Cumilla.
On his verified Facebook page on Saturday morning, Fakhrul posted a photo card with the message, "Jubo Dal leader Tohidul Islam Hottar Bichar Chai" (We demand justice for the murder of Jubo Dal leader Tohidul Islam).
Towhidul Islam, 42, convener of Panchthuri union Jubo Dal in Cumilla Sadar upazila, was allegedly picked up from his home by the joint forces early Friday and later died at Cumilla Medical College Hospital.
Family members have claimed that he was tortured to death, as physicians found torture marks on his body.
Meanwhile, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi slammed the Dr Muhammad Yunus-led interim government over the ‘extrajudicial killing’ of Towhidul, saying that it occurred in the same manner as during the Awami League government.
He also lamented that the incident occurred amid ongoing conspiracies both at home and abroad against the country and the interim government.
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"Our fears are growing day by day. A Jubo Dal leader, who was picked up in Cumilla, was returned by law enforcers as dead. Why is this happening during Dr Yunus' tenure?" Rizvi said.
He said Dr Yunus, who is admired by various human rights organisations across the globe including Western democratic countries, is also liked by the people of Bangladesh. “If the various evil deeds and atrocities of the Sheikh Hasina government are repeated during his tenure, the people will be shocked.”
He made the comments while addressing the introduction meeting of the central convening committee of "Thikana Bangladesh", a newly formed pro-BNP platform, at Nayapaltan Bhashani Auditorium in the capital.
Rizvi strongly condemned the killing of the Cumilla Jubo Dal leader, stating that if Towhidul was a criminal, he should have been arrested and brought to justice.
“But why would he be arrested, tortured to death, and then returned to his parents during this government's rule?"
He said the people of the country forced a terrible and bloodthirsty government to leave as it had indulged in such extrajudicial killings.
"Why would extrajudicial killings, like those during Sheikh Hasina's regime, be repeated in this country again?"
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The BNP leader said if there had been any allegations of crime against the Jubo Dal leader, it was the responsibility of the court to judge that crime.
Rizvi said the democratic parties and democracy-loving people of the country had extended their support to the Dr Yunus-led government, even though it was not an elected administration.
“But if Hasina's rule is repeated during this government, then the bloody movement, the bloodshed on the streets, and the supreme sacrifices of a five-year-old child like Ahad, and young souls like Mughdo and Abu Sayed, who fearlessly accepted the bullets of Sheikh Hasina's police during the July mass uprising, will be completely in vain,” he bemoaned.