Minister Abdullah laid to rest
State minister for religious affairs Sheikh Md Abdullah was laid to rest at his family graveyard in Gopalganj yesterday.
Abdullah, who was also a valiant freedom fighter, breathed his last at Central Military Hospital in Dhaka around 11:00pm on Saturday. He was 75.
Nurul Islam, secretary to the ministry, told The Daily Star that Abdullah suffered a cardiac arrest. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 after his death.
Nazmul Haque Saikat, assistant personal secretary to Abdullah, said several hundred people attended the Namaj-e-Janaza of the state minister on Sultan Shahi Madrasa ground at Kekania village.
"They [people attending the Namaj-e-Janaza] maintained physical distance to contain the spread of coronavirus," he added.
Abdullah was buried next to his parents' graves.
He left behind his two wives, eleven children, a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
Abdullah was born on September 8, 1945 at Kekania village in Gopalganj. His father was late Sheikh Md Matiur Rahman and mother Mosammat Rabeya Khatun. He was the second among his four brothers and three sisters.
He worked as the chief polls agent of Sheikh Hasina every time she was elected as Member of Parliament of Gopalganj-3 (Tungipara-Kotalipara) constituency.
After the formation of the current government last year, he was made the state minister for the religious affairs ministry.
Motivated by the ideologies of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Abdullah got engaged in politics when he was a student. He was actively involved in the Mass Upsurge Movement of 1969 and the Liberation War.
He was also the religious affairs secretary of the Awami League. He obtained Bachelor of Commerce (honours) degree from Khulna's Azam Khan College in 1963 and Masters of Commerce degree from the University of Dhaka in 1972 and Masters of Arts degree in Economics in 1974, according to the website of the religious affairs ministry. He also obtained LLB degree from Dhaka Central Law College in 1977.
After completion of his education, he started his career as the Headmaster of Sultan Shahi Kekania High School.
Later, he started practicing law at Dhaka and Gopalganj judge courts and Bangladesh Supreme Court as an enlisted lawyer.