Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali buried in Moulvibazar

Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali has been buried next to his parents' graves in Moulvibazar.

He was buried beside the shrine of Hazrat Shah Mostafa with state honour on Wednesday afternoon after the Namaz-e-Janaza at the Moulvibazar High School ground.

Ali died in a Singapore hospital from pneumonia and heart diseases at 66 on Monday.

His remains were kept at his Minto Road official residence after those were flown in on Tuesday night.

People paid their last respects to the Awami League leader at the Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday morning.

Later, a Namaz-e-Janaza was held at the Parliament Building's South Plaza.

President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid their last respects to the freedom fighter there.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, among others, joined them.

A police contingent gave Ali a guard of honour.

His body was taken to his house at 36, Berirparh in Moulvibazar at around 1pm.

His supporters gathered at the Shaheed Minar there to catch one last glimpse of their leader.

Ali, a member of the Awami League's National Council, fought in the Liberation War as a commander in the Sylhet Division.

He was a member of the National Freedom Fighters' Council and a central committee member of the Sector Commanders' Forum.

An MBA graduate from a Kolkata university, Ali headed the Moulvibazar chamber for some time.

The three-time Moulvibazar municipality chairman led the ruling party's district unit between 1998 and 2005.

He was made a member of a parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation and tourism after he was elected to Parliament from Moulvibazar-3 constituency in 2008.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina put him in charge of the social welfare ministry last year.

Locals say Ali was very popular with his constituency.

He made headlines for singing at various programmes and also for smoking in public. He also drew criticism for rapping journalists.