The historic Mujibnagar Day was observed here at Faridpur on Wednesday in a befitting manner.

On this occasion, on the initiative of Faridpur district administration, a floral tribute to the mural of the Father of the Nation, a discussion meeting and prize distribution were held in the morning.

The mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman installed in the Deputy Commissioner's office

Wreaths were laid by the Faridpur district administration and later by the district police, after which various organizations laid wreaths. Then a discussion meeting was held under the chairmanship of Faridpur Deputy Commissioner Md. Qamrul Ahsan Talukder PAA, Faridpur Superintendent of Police Morshed Alam, Additional Deputy Commissioner Yasin Kabir, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Salauddin Faridpur Civil Surgeon were present as,Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tamanna Tasnim, District Ansar VDP Commandant Nadira Yasmin, freedom fighter Abul Faiz, eminent educationist Professor Mohammad Shahjahan, Racin Executive Director Asma Akhter Mukta and other department officials were present. Later on the occasion of Mujibnagar Day Prizes were distributed among the winners of various competitions organized.

Awami League joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim pointed to BNP-Jamaat and said that today's Mujibnagar Day vow should be to resist those who want to hand over non-communal Bangladesh to communal forces.

He said this at a discussion meeting on Mujibnagar Day at the historical Mujibnagar Amrakanan in Meherpur on Wednesday (April 17) afternoon.

He said, we observe the day from our consciousness and the values of the liberation war. The oath of this day is to resist those who do not want the anti-independence non-sectarian power of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Awami League presidium council member Kazi Zafarullah said that Bangladesh was recognized by the international community through the oath of the first government on April 17, 1971.

On the other hand, accusing BNP of anti-national conspiracy, Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said, BNP and their domestic and foreign allies have distorted the history of the liberation war by creating the situation after 1975.

He also said that after the BNP came to power, the Collaborator Act was abolished and 15,000 war criminals were freed. Banned war criminals have given Jamaat-e-Islami an opportunity to do politics. They are still conspiring against Bangladesh. They do not believe in freedom.

In the speech of the chief guest, Kazi Zafarullah said that Mujibnagar Day is a matter of historical importance. But it is a matter of great regret that there is no nationwide initiative to celebrate the day. Therefore, he drew the attention of the Minister of Liberation War to take measures to observe the day at the district and upazila level of the country from next year.

Bangladesh Awami League organized this meeting to celebrate Mujibnagar Day on April 17, the day of swearing in of the first government in 1971. Besides, the district administration and Ministry of Liberation War organized various grand events around Amrakanan to celebrate the day.

Public Administration Minister Forhad Hossain was the special speaker on the occasion, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque was the guest of honor. Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor Khairuzzaman Liton, son of the first government's Home, Agriculture and Rehabilitation Minister AHM Kamruzzaman, State Minister for Children and Women Affairs Simin Hossain Rimi, daughter of the first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, Awami League Organizing Secretary SM Kamal Hossain were special guests. The special speaker was Dr. Abu Saleh Mohammad Nazmul Haque Sagar, Member of Parliament for Meherpur-2 Constituency, District A-League General Secretary MA Khalek, Member of Bangladesh Awami League Syeda Zakia Noor Lipi, Adv. Amirul Alam Milan, Parveen Zaman Kalpana and Nirmal Kumar Chatterjee. Central and local leaders of Awami League were present.

Earlier, ministers, government officials and Awami League leaders laid wreaths at the Mujibnagar memorial at 9:30 am. Awami League leaders hoisted the national and party flags after laying wreaths. This was followed by a guard of honor and parade. Police, BGB, Ansar, BNCC, Girl's Guide and the parade of students from various educational institutions impressed the thousands of people present.

In the second phase, the discussion meeting was held at the Sheikh Hasina stage. At the end of the discussion, the Bangladesh Ansar-VDP orchestra team performed a ballad called "Sonali Sapner Desh" where the development activities of the government are highlighted.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Liberation War and Meherpur district administration jointly organized a grand event. From the previous day, festoons, arcades, colors and lighting were done all over the Mujibnagar complex. In the evening, artists of the country will perform music in a wonderful cultural program. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered all the members of the Cabinet and the relevant ministries to keep a close eye on the ongoing tension in the Middle East following Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel.

Cabinet Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain said this at a press conference organized to announce the decision of the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday (April 17) afternoon.

Earlier, a Cabinet meeting was held at the Prime Minister's office under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Cabinet Secretary said that after the attack, the prime minister asked all sectors to be ready to deal with its response. However, she did not specifically said about trade or economy. Everyone has been asked to prepare and report on this.

Giving an example, Md. Mahbub Hossain said, for example: If the price of oil increases, what will we do to deal with that effect, she asked to prepare.

Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said that Aminur Rahman and Abdur Sukkur, two brothers of Teknaf's former MP Abdur Rahman Bodi, are associated with Cox's Bazar-based drug trade.

Additional IGP Muhammad Ali Mia said this in response to a question from journalists at a press conference organized at the CID's media center in Malibagh in the capital on Wednesday (April 17) in the afternoon regarding the confiscation of assets of drug lords.

The CID chief said action will be taken against those found involved with drugs, whoever he is. We found the involvement of his (Bodi's) brothers and their followers. We will interrogate Bodi's two brothers and if his (Bodi's) name comes up there we will also arrest him. No one will be exempted in the matter of drugs.

Asked about the role of Bodi's two brothers, the CID chief said that Aminur Rahman and Abdur Sukkur brought Yaba from Myanmar in different ways. After that they are delivered to different places by their assigned associates. Already 6.9 acres of land belonging to Bodi’s brothers has been identified. Besides, the information of 40 percent of the land worth Tk. one crore has been found. Land information has not been digitized yet. As a result, the work of collecting this information is going on at the field level in various ways. We can give more details about this later.

Initially, the CID investigated 35 cases and found various movable and immovable properties including money (kept in bank accounts), purchased land, houses and flats illegally earned from the drug business of the godfathers of drug cases. The amount of illegally earned money in these cases is about Tk. 178.44 crore.

Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia said that CID has already frozen 9.14 acres of land and 2 houses worth Tk. 8.11 crore of the godfathers in 3 cases of croc and drug related money laundering and Tk. 1 crore 1 lakh 23 thousand 425 kept in the bank in various cases. Another 35.173 acres of land, 12 houses and 1 car valued at Tk. 36.82 crores are in process of sale.

The CID chief said, you know that at least 80 thousand drug recovery cases are registered in the country every year. Most of those arrested are drug peddlers and users. At times, investigating officers end their investigations within these two categories. As a result, the original godfathers of drugs remained hidden. But since 2021, the CID has taken the initiative of arresting the drug godfathers and collecting the assets and depositing them in the government coffers. This will create a panic among the drug dealers of the country. They will leave the drug trade and do legitimate business. Besides, no one will be encouraged to join this profession. Because you know drug is a capital less business. As a result, many people get involved in illegal business to take advantage of easy income.