It is a staged drama to discredit our leaders: Jamaat

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has accused the authorities of staging a drama regarding the arrest of Thakurgaon District Jamaat Amir Belal Uddin Pradhan with money.

However, the party claims that the act was done to discredit Jamaat leaders.

This statement was made by Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, head of the publicity and media wing of the party, during a press conference at Jamaat’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, today, Wednesday afternoon.

In the morning, Thakurgaon District Jamaat Amir Belal Uddin Pradhan was apprehended with money from Syedpur Airport.

Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said that the Thakurgaon District Jamaat Amir was traveling from Dhaka International Airport to Syedpur Airport at noon today. The airport officials in Dhaka were aware of his carrying money.

Mentioning that there is no problem in carrying money in this way on domestic routes, Group Captain Ragib Samad, Executive Director of the airport, issued a no-objection certificate.

Nevertheless, a drama with malicious intent was staged and spread negatively.

Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair further stated, “He (Belal Uddin Pradhan) has clarified his stance that he travels for his business purposes. With banks being closed, he needed to conduct some transactions, hence he was carrying some cash. This is very normal.”

The Jamaat leader said, "A person can conduct business and carry money for his family’s needs or other necessities. In a restricted area like the airport, where very limited people have access, a drama has been staged as if he was carrying the money with ill intentions, and various interpretations and news are being made about it."

Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair also mentioned that due to psychological pressure, the District Jamaat Amir has fallen ill and has been taken to Rangpur Hospital.

In response to a question at the press conference regarding any concerns about election engineering, Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair replied, “It seems there is a malicious attempt by a group of people to engage in such activities.” He added, “We urge them to refrain from such actions.”

The press conference was attended by Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary-General and Central Election Conducting Committee Secretary Abdul Halim, Election Conducting Committee member Saif Uddin Khaled, along with members of the Election Conducting Committee and Media Cell.

Around 11 AM, Thakurgaon District Jamaat Amir Belal Uddin Pradhan was detained at Syedpur Airport in Nilphamari. Nilphamari Police Superintendent Sheikh Zahidul Islam stated that the detained person claimed that the amount of money he was carrying was more than half a crore takas.

After this incident, Jamaat Amir Shafiqur Rahman posted on his verified Facebook page after 2 PM. In the post, the Jamaat Amir wrote that just when the nation is prepared for a fair, impartial, and acceptable election, some are spreading various kinds of misinformation in the country.

He alleged that a group, scared of Jamaat's popularity and public support, is engaging in such futile attempts to mislead voters.

However, he did not directly mention any detention incident in the post. Jamaat later held a press conference on this matter.