Haris Chowdhury dies in the UK, says cousin

Haris Chowdhury, who was handed down life time imprisonment in a case filed for the bomb attack on a rally of then opposition Awami League on 21 August 2004, died around three and a half months ago in the UK, revealed his cousin.

Haris was also the political affairs secretary to former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

The information of the death of Haris Chowdhury came to light when his cousin Ashiq Uddin Chowdhury, who was a former vice-president of Sylhet district BNP and former chairman of Kanaighat upazila parishad, gave a post on social media on Tuesday night.

Ashiq Uddin Chowdhury added a photograph of Haris Chowdhury with his Facebook status. Following that the leaders and activists of associate bodies of the BNP and a number of other people were seen discussing the death in the comment section of the Facebook status.

Around 11:00am on Wednesday, Ashiq Uddin Chowdhury confirmed this to Prothom Alo. He said Haris Chowdhury passed away in the UK around three and a half months ago. He was 68. He left behind his wife, a son and a daughter to mourn his death. He was buried in the UK.

Ashiq Uddin Chowdhury further said he was in the UK during the death of Haris Chowdhury. “I was in the UK when he died. I got the news of death of my cousin over mobile phone. Haris Chowdhury’s wife Josna Chowdhury, son Nayem Shafi Chowdhury and daughter Samira Tanjin Chowdhury are currently in the UK. Haris Chowdhury’s village home is in Darpanagar village of Dighirpar Purba union of Kanaighat upazila. But no one stays there.”

Ashiq claimed that Haris was infected with novel coronavirus. He returned home after taking treatment at the hospital but fell sick again. He breathed his last under treatment at a hospital in the UK in September, he added.

Speaking about the delay of revealing the news of Haris’ death, Ashiq Uddin Chowdhury said, “I told the people who enquired about him. No one is interested in his whereabouts. That’s why the matter was revealed so late.”

Haris Chowdhury was handed down life time imprisonment on 10 October 2018 in the case filed for the bomb attack on a rally of Awami League on 21 August 2004. On 29 October that year, he was handed down seven years’ imprisonment and fined Tk 1 million in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case. He was also an accused in the case filed for the murder of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.