Piash Karim's body will not be taken to Shaheed Minar: Family

Amid protests from different quarters Piash Karim's family has backed-off from their plans to take his body to the Central Shaheed Minar.

The Dhaka University authorities on Wednesday, however, denied permission to the late TV commentator's family to take his mortal remains to the Shaheed Minar.

"We are not aware of the university's decision, but the family does not want his body to be taken to the Shaheed Minar," the late TV commentator's brother Lotus Karim told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

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They decided to do so to avoid anymore 'discussions or criticism' over the matter, he said.

"We had applied for it upon requests from some of his well-wishers. We did not expect it to cause so much discussions and criticisms. "

Piash Karim's body will be brought to his Dhanmondi residence at 10 am on Friday. It will be then kept at the premises of the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) until 12 pm.

His funeral prayers will be held after the Jumma prayers at the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque before burying at the Banani graveyard, said Lotus Karim.

Piash Karim, who taught at BRAC University’s Department of Economics and Social Science, died of a cardiac arrest on Monday.

Originally from Comilla, he shot into limelight for his performance on television panel discussions.

Karim faced considerable flak for criticising the mass uprising in Shahbagh demanding maximum punishment for war criminals. He was widely criticised for his controversial remarks over the trial processes of the International Crimes Tribunal.

Protest from different quarters, including the Ganajagaran Mancha, erupted after Karim's family announced that the body would be taken to the Shaheed Minar so that mourners can pay their respect. The social media was also flooded with comments on the issue.

An application, seeking the permission to keep his body at the Shaheed Minar, signed by his wife DU teacher Amena Mohsin had been sent to the DU authorities on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the BNP had announced mourning programmes on Friday. In a statement the party too had mentioned about keeping Karim's body at the Central Shaheed Minar for 'last respects'.

A group of angry artists had also painted the street near Shaheed Minar in protest.

They painted caricatures of ‘Razakars’ or the local collaborators of the Pakistani occupational forces during the 1971 Independence War.

“The sacred Shaheed Minar will not have the body of a (Pakistani) agent, take it to Pakistan” – it was written on the north steps of the memorial on Tuesday.

Dhaka University Proctor-in-Charge Amzad Ali told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that an organisation named Muktijoddha Sanshad Santan Command had already sought permission for programmes at the Shaheed Minar on Thursday and Friday. Authorities have granted it the permission.

"Before securing our permission, Piash Karim's family informed the media that the body will be brought to Shaheed Minar. There is nothing about giving permission or taking liability for it," he said.