Khaleda, sons pay last respects to Toyeba

Dhaka, Jan 19 (bdprem.com)—Former prime minister Khaleda Zia paid last respects to her mother late Saturday at her Dhaka cantonment home. Khaleda's sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco also visited their cantonment home to see the body of their grandmother separately. Toyeba Majumdar died late Friday in a hospital in the northern district of Dinajpur from a heart attack. She was 87. Your Ad Here The body arrived in Dhaka cantonment Saturday afternoon by helicopter and was taken to Khaleda's cantonment home on Shaheed Mainul Road by ambulance from Kurmitola. Khaleda was led into the cantonment at 7.27pm after son Tarique Rahman left the place at 7.15pm. Khaleda's other son Coco was the first to pay last respects to his grandmother. Arafat was in the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital. Tarique in white punjabi was driven into the cantonment at 5.52pm, minutes after Coco left for the hospital. Tarique, senior joint secretary general of the BNP, took part in a namaz-e-janaza for Toyeba in the cantonment. Moulana Joynal Aedin led the janaza attended by about 150 people. Amid tight security and a gloomy mood, the three were freed for several hours from jail to travel to their cantonment home, where they were arrested with alleged links to corruption. Khaleda's brother Shamim Eskander—accompanied by his wife—arrived in Dinajpur Saturday morning to take the body to Dhaka. Khaleda and the sons were not given a chance to see each other. The former prime minister got two hours to stay with her mother while Tarique and Coco got one hour each, jail authorities said. In a statement earlier, the home ministry said that the three would be paroled for a few hours. DMP commissioner Naim Ahmed had told bdprem.com that security was upped for the BNP chief and her sons. A lawyer complained that the government delayed the process of releasing Khaleda as the official order said she would be paroled from 11 am to 5 pm. Lawyer Mahbubuddin Khokon alleged that the government failed to keep its promise. The duration of the parole was later extended.