BASA claims attack on UNO Wahida pre-planned

The Bangladesh Administrative Services Association (BASA) has said the attack on Wahida Khanam, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Ghoraghat upazila in Dinajpur, was pre-planned and not an incident of attempted robbery.

"Some quarters are trying to divert the incident. The association thinks this is not a case of theft because the miscreants did not steal anything. This is a planned attack and many more people may be involved with it," Helaluddin Ahmed, the president of the BASA and a senior secretary to the local government, made the remark during a press conference of the association on Saturday.

He further said, "UNO Wahida Khanam is an honest and fearless officer, and always stands against corruption. The incident may have been carried out by various selfish quarters to avenge the failure of illegal lobbying against her. If the matter is properly investigated, the facts will come out."

Meanwhile, the condition of Wahida Khanam, who suffered serious injuries in a midnight attack by miscreants, has improved. Her level of consciousness is 15 out of 15, which is equal to that of a healthy person. Her physical condition is also improving rapidly, said Dr Jahed Hossain, head of the Department of Neurotrauma at the Neuroscience Institute Hospital, after the medical board reviewed her condition on Saturday.

After visiting her at the hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University vice chancellor Dr Kanak Kanti Barua said she will recover quickly if she contracts no new infection. He requested the visits of the relatives and colleagues be controlled to prevent infection.

Director general of the Health Department Khurshid Alam, while visiting ailing Wahida Khanam, told reporters, "She does not need to be taken abroad for treatment, but there is a risk of infection."

After the surgery on Wahida Khanam's head, 37 of 72 hours of observation have passed. Her father is undergoing treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

On Friday, the persons arrested over the attack claimed they were robbers, said Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

"The miscreants were caught on the CCTV footage entering the residence of UNO Wahida in order to rob them, which led to the attack," said Rangpur RAB 13 Captain Reza Ahmed Ferdous at a briefing on Friday.

"The arrestees confessed during primary interrogation that they went into the house to commit a burglary. However, that is not our conclusion, they just initially confessed to this," he added. 

Earlier RAB arrested one of the miscreants–Asadul Haque–by identifying his shirt in the CCTV footage. Later his confession led to the arrest of another miscreant Nabirul. 

The arrestees are: Asadul Haque, 35, son of Amzad Hossain of Osmanpur village under the same upazila; Polash, night guard of Ghoraghat upazila parishad; Sri Santu Kumar Biswas, 28; and Nabirul, 34, son of the late Faizuddin.

He also said the detainees are already accused in several robbery cases.

Wahida Khanam and her father Omar Ali were seriously injured in an attack by miscreants at her home on the upazila parishad premises early on Thursday. She was airlifted to the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka from Rangpur Medical College Hospital on Thursday.

Wahid's brother Sheikh Farid Uddin filed a case against the unidentified accused at Ghoraghat police station on Thursday night.

Rozina Parvin, officer-in-charge of Ghoraghat Upazila Ansar and Village Defense Force, said four Ansar members were deployed on Friday to ensure the safety of the UNO family.