Culprits won't be spared: Matia

The government will not spare anyone behind the death of eminent politician and labour leader Nurul Islam said Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday.
"Whoever is responsible for causing the fire [that caused death of Nurul Islam] would be hunted down," said Matia. She was speaking at a programme organised by Citizens' Committee on Nurul Islam's 68th birth anniversary at the Central Kochi Kanchar Mela Bhavan in the capital.
Nurul Islam, president of Gonotontri Party and Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra, and his son Tamohar died in a fire early December in 2008.
Addressing the programme as chief guest, Matia Chowdhury said Nurul Islam was a dedicated labour rights leader, an ideal politician and a lifelong crusader against injustice, says a press release.
It was not a normal fire, she said, adding that only someone extremely efficient in using chemical substances could initiate that fire.
The investigation into the deaths is yet to be completed.
Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, said the independent probe of the department of chemistry of Dhaka University prepared a report on chemical elements that caused the fire. But the arson specialists' team is not willing to publish the report due to security reasons.
"The government should look into the insecurity," he said urging the CID to check the call list of Tamohar's cellphone to track down the number from where someone gave death threats to his father.
Khaled, who moderated the programme, proposed interrogating the caretaker of that apartment complex where Nurul Islam was staying.
Lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta said Islam's deathbed testimony is enough for the CID to issue a charge sheet for the case.
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Khan Sarwar Murshid and lawmaker Hasanul Huq Inu were present.
Separate human chains were organised in 11 towns, including Dhaka city, demanding fair trial of Nurul Islam's death.