The body of Haris Chowdhury, who was the political secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and valiant freedom fighter, has been reburied.
He was buried with state honors in his village in Darpnagar, Kanaighat, Sylhet, yesterday after Asr prayers in the courtyard of the Shafiqul Haque Chowdhury Memorial Orphanage established in his father's name.
Earlier in the morning, an ambulance carrying Haris Chowdhury's body reached Sylhet by road from Dhaka. The body was kept in front of the Sylhet Circuit House. It was taken to the Sylhet Shahi Eidgah Maidan in the city at around 2 pm. The Imam of the Dargah Mosque led the prayers there.
Before the prayers, Haris Chowdhury's daughter, Barrister Samira Tanjin Chowdhury, gave a brief speech there under the direction of former Metropolitan BNP General Secretary Badruzzaman Selim. Seeking prayers for his father, he said, "During the Awami League government, it was not possible to bring the body to Sylhet. Following an appeal to the interim government and after receiving instructions from the government after DNA testing, the body has been brought to Sylhet."
Among the BNP leaders and activists present at the prayer event at Shahi Eidgah ground were the party's central co-organizing secretary Miftah Siddiqui, acting president of the city BNP Rezaul Hasan Lodi Kayes, general secretary Emdad Hossain Chowdhury and other party leaders and activists.
It should be noted that, during the Awami League government, after Haris Chowdhury died on September 3, 2021, his identity was hidden and his body was buried. Haris Chowdhury was buried in the premises of Jamia Khatamunnabiyyin Madrasa in Birulia, Savar, Dhaka. Later, his daughter Samira filed a writ in the High Court. In view of the writ, the body was exhumed and DNA was tested. After the DNA test confirmed Harish Chowdhury's identity, the government ordered a state funeral. In light of that directive, the body was buried in a village house in Sylhet yesterday.
