Piash Karim laid to rest

Piash Karim, a professor of BRAC University, was buried at Banani Graveyard in the capital yesterday afternoon.
Piash Karim's first namaz-e-janaza was held at Baitul Aman mosque beside his residence in the capital's Dhanmondi. After the janaza, general people including some prominent personalities like columnist Farhad Mazhar paid their last tribute to him.
His second namaz-e-janaza was held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Juma prayers and he was buried at 3:00pm, said Iqbal Chowdhury, a cousin of Piash Karim.
Earlier in the morning, the body was finally taken to his Dhanmondi residence instead of the Central Shaheed Minar from the mortuary of Square Hospital.
The body was kept at South Plaza of Baitul Mukarram for a wake instead of the Shaheed Minar due a section of citizens opposition to taking his body to the latter location. Leaders and activists of BNP led-20-party alliance paid respects to Piash, also a regular TV talk-show participant, who died of cardiac arrest early Monday at the age of 56.
Meanwhile, some organisations, including Gonojagoron Mancha, BCL's Dhaka University unit, and Bangabandhu Sainik Platoon, formed a human chain at 10:00am on Shaheed Minar premises to prevent holding of his wake there. They also observed a sit-in there.
Muktijoddha Sangsad Santan Command alongside some online platforms including Bangabandghu Sainik Platoon, and Crack Platoon (CP gang) also took position on the premises.
They staged a rally and performed a parody of a talk-show making fun of participants like Piash as "mouthpieces of anti-liberation forces”.
They had banners and posters terming nine participants, including some journalists, as "distorters of the Liberation War history”.  
Kamal Pasa-led faction of Gonojagorn Mancha also joined the programme.
The Dhaka University authorities on Wednesday rejected the application submitted by Piash's family seeking permission for taking his body to Shaheed Minar.
After the janaza, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam lambasted the organisations which protested against the plan of holding Piash's wake at Central Shaheed Minar. Participation in the janaza proved Piash's popularity, he said.   
BNP yesterday observed a "day of mourning" across the country due to his death.