Murad returns to the country
Disgraced former state minister for information and broadcasting Murad Hassan returned to the country on Sunday after having failed to enter Canada and the UAE, reports UNB.
An official at Hazrat Shahajalal International Airport immigration police, wishing not to be named, told the news agency that Murad returned home by an Emirates flight around 5.00pm.
As he had no valid visa to enter Dubai, he got back home, the airport official said, requesting anonymity.
Murad Hassan had left the country for Canada in an Emirates flight around 1:20am on Thursday night.
According to Toronto-based Bangla news portal thebengalitimes.com, Murad reached Toronto Pearson International Airport at 1.31am (Canadian time) on Friday.
Canadian immigration officials questioned the former Bangladesh’s junior minister about various allegations, including harassing, humiliating and torturing women, against him in Bangladesh.
They also showed him various videos, photos and news released and published on him, and wanted to know his version, the news portal said.
It said Murad was also asked about the reasons for leaving Bangladesh and coming to Canada, but he failed to give any “satisfactory answer”.
Murad was then flown back to Dubai in a return Emirates flight from the Canadian airport.
When asked about the case against Murad under the Digital Security Act (DSA), home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters at a progarmme in Dhaka on Saturday that the state is not aggrieved with him.
Adressing a programme of Nirapad Sarak Chai at the Jatiya Press Club, he, however, said if one is aggrieved with Murad he or she has the right to file a case against the former state minister.
On Tuesday, Murad Hassan quit the cabinet following the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his offensive and indecent remarks on women.
Murad had been under increasing criticism by various quarters for his disrespectful remarks on women in an interview on social media. Several audios and videos containing indecent remarks by Murad Hassan also went viral on social media during the last few days.
Meanwhile, a two-year-old phone conversation of the junior minister with actor Mamnun Hasan Emon and actress Mahiya Mahi recently went viral on social media. In that audio clip, Murad made "derogatory comments" on the actress, threatened her and gave her an alleged indecent proposal.
On Wednesday, a writ was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of Murad Hassan’s MP post on the same ground.
Supreme Court advocate Yunus Ali Akhand who filed the petition with the apex court also sought judicial investigation into the activities of Murad, also the MP of Jamalpur-4 constituency.
The HC bench of justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah is likely to hear the writ next week.
Murad was also relieved from the post of Health and Population Affairs Secretary of Jamalpur district unit Awami League for damaging the party’s image and for his involvement in anti-disciplinary activities.