Miraj Sheikh's whereabouts are Home Minister's responsibility: JDP

The Justice and Democracy Party (JDP) has called on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed to take responsibility for locating fisherman Miraj Sheikh, who has been missing for five months after allegedly being picked up in Mongla, Bagerhat, by people identifying themselves as members of the Coast Guard.

The party claimed that the Home Minister's statements on the disappearance and what it described as his attempts to evade responsibility indicate his possible involvement in the incident.

JDP Convener Nayeem Ahmad made the remarks at a protest rally in front of the National Museum on Saturday afternoon, demanding the whereabouts of Miraj Sheikh and protesting the repeal of the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance 2025.

Nayeem Ahmad said the government has a responsibility to ensure the whereabouts and safety of every citizen, including Miraj Sheikh, and that the Home Minister holds central responsibility for this on behalf of the government.

“Ensuring the whereabouts of citizens like Miraj Sheikh is the responsibility of the government. And on behalf of the government, the Home Minister is at the centre of this responsibility,” he said.

He alleged that the Home Minister's statements regarding Miraj Sheikh's disappearance and his tendency to evade responsibility suggest that he may have been involved in the incident.

Nayeem also alleged that the BNP government is creating an environment for the return of a culture of enforced disappearances in the country.

He claimed that the repeal of the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance 2025 and the reintroduction of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) under a new name were part of this process.

“They are testing us by making people like Miraj Sheikh disappear,” he said.

The JDP convener urged the Home Minister to ensure Miraj Sheikh's return to his family and stop what he described as harassment of the missing fisherman's family.

Speaking at the rally, JDP Member Secretary Advocate Abdul Alim said the proposed law replacing the repealed Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance would encourage perpetrators of enforced disappearances.

He called for amendments to the investigation and trial provisions of the proposed law and demanded the reinstatement of the provisions contained in the repealed ordinance.

Several political and civil society figures expressed solidarity with the protest.

Among them were Student for Sovereignty Convener Md Ziaul Haque, Janatar Dal Education Secretary Arafat Chowdhury, Janajote Biplobi Mancha Convener Mozammel Miaji, Bangladesh Janarashtra Andolan Secretary Mohammadullah Madhu, Inqilab Movement Chief Coordinator Moniruzzaman Sohel, lawyer Khaja Waliullah Masud, Insaf Andolan Bangladesh Convener Shamim Hasan, Bangladesh Azad Party Vice Chairman Colonel Ferdous Aziz, NDP Secretary General Manzur Hossain Eesa, Jatiya Biplobi Parishad Convener Khomeini Ehsan and Bangladesh NAP Secretary General Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan.

JDP Senior Joint Convener Imran Hossain Rahat, Joint Convener Fuad Zaman, Joint Member Secretaries Mahtab Hossain Sabbir, Ayman Andalib, Naim Al Islam and Yasin Arafat Raj, and Jatiya Chhatra Mancha Chief Organiser Salman Sharif also spoke at the rally.

–