Maximum punishment for Mirpur child killer will be ensured within a month: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has stated that the maximum punishment for the highly discussed child murder incident in Mirpur, Dhaka will be ensured within the next month.

He made this statement at the inauguration ceremony of the birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam at Nazrul Academy premises the Trishal Upazila of Mymensingh on Saturday afternoon.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "The cruel death of an innocent girl in Mirpur, Dhaka is the ultimate proof of the complete degradation of human values. On this matter, I want to clearly present a point at this event today. The current government will not, in any way, tolerate such child or woman abuse. The government will ensure the maximum punishment for the murderers within the next month, and that punishment will be the death penalty, so that no individual dares to commit such acts of abuse against children or women in the future. "

The Prime Minister commented that in order to establish a safe and humane state and society, the rule of law must be established.

He said, "We need to change the political culture. At the same time, we need to revive the perennial religious, social, and cultural values of Bangladesh in our national life. In this regard, the life and work of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam are relevant to us. "

In his speech, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "The life and work of poet Nazrul need to be spread across the global literary scene even more.

His philosophy and ideology should be passed down to future generations. As part of this, I will request the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Department to explore possibilities whether Trishal, a place rich in the memory of our national poet, can be declared as Nazrul City.

Bangladesh and Kazi Nazrul Islam are an indivisible entity. He is the true representative of our national identity, the symbol of our national consciousness, and the symbol of our nationalism. "

The inauguration ceremony of Nazrul's birth anniversary was presided over by the Minister of Culture, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, with a welcome speech by Trishal Member of Parliament Mahbubur Rahman, and a commemorative speech by Professor Tariq Monjur from the Department of Bengali at Dhaka University.

Other speakers included the poet's granddaughter and Chairman of the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam Institute Trustee Board Khilkhil Kazi, the Institute’s Executive Director Md Latiful Islam, the Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting and Cultural Affairs Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman, BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Kaniz Mawla, Minister of State for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam, and Deputy Minister of Culture Ali Nawaz Mahmud Khaiyam, among others.

Cabinet members and Members of Parliament from various constituencies were also present.

Earlier today, at noon, Prime Minister inaugurated the re-dredging of the Dharar Canal in Trishal Upazila, Mymensingh. The canal was originally dredged by the late President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of BNP, in 1979. Tarique Rahman inaugurated the re-dredging of the canal, which his father had inaugurated 47 years ago.

At 2: 21 PM, amidst drizzling rain, the Prime Minister arrived at the bank of the canal in Trishal to inaugurate the dredging work.

He also planted a palm tree sapling on the canal bank. After the inauguration of the re-dredging, in a brief assembly, the Prime Minister commented, "To punish or prosecute any wrongdoer, there are legal rules and regulations of the government. We have noticed that in recent days, section of people are trying to create a situation by blocking roads, stopping vehicular movement, setting fires, and creating tension. By doing these acts, are they not obstructing the rule of law? Are they allowing the law to operate as it should?"

Commenting on several unfortunate incidents of wrongdoing that occurred in the country even when the interim government was in power, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "When those injustices happened, I personally spoke to the mothers of the children involved. Our party's doctors provided medical assistance and our lawyers provided legal aid."

"But those who are making noise, blocking roads, and making big statements today were not visible on the ground back then. We did not see them blocking any roads back then. So, should we assume that the people of Bangladesh gave their votes to BNP to form the government, and their agitation is the reason behind these activities?," he added.

The Prime Minister called on the public to be vigilant against those who want to create such an anarchic situation in the country.

He said, "If an anarchic situation is created, this canal cutting will stop all over Bangladesh. Who will be harmed? Distribution of family cards will stop. Who will be harmed? Distribution of farmers' cards will stop. Who will be harmed? If they create an anarchic situation, payments to Imams, muezzins, and other religious leaders will be stopped. In every instance, due to their anarchic situation, it is the working people who will be harmed. That's why we need to be vigilant. "

Referring to providing uniforms and bags to primary school students, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "We had said that if we could form the government, we would provide new school uniforms to young children in rural primary schools and new school bags for books and notebooks. This work is underway. In shaa Allah, from July, we will gradually provide new clothes and new school bags to primary school students across all of Bangladesh."

Discussing the canal being re-dredged, Tarique Rahman said, "Many of you remember that martyred President Ziaur Rahman came to dig this canal almost 45 years ago. The closing of the canal has caused many problems for the locals, especially farmers. Once the dredging is completed, approximately 4,300 farmers in this area will benefit, and about 20,000 people will benefit. There are almost 2,500 kilometers of canals in the entire Mymensingh district that need to be dredged or re-dredged. "

The Minister of Disaster Management and Relief Asadul Habib Dulu, Minister of State E Iqbal Hossain, Minister of State for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Yaser Khan Chowdhury, Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rasheduzzaman Millat, BNP Central Committee Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh, local Member of Parliament Mahbubur Rahman, Member of Parliament for Sadar constituency Abu Wahab Akand Wahid, Member of Parliament for Muktagachha constituency Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Member of Parliament for Gafargaon constituency Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, Mymensingh City Corporation Administrator Md Rukunuzzaman, and Dipurty Commissioner Md Saifur Rahman, among others, were present.