BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka dies in New York after long battle with cancer

BNP Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka has died in a hospital in New York, at the age of 67, after his long battle with cancer.

The BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed the news of his colleague’s death to bdnews24.com on Monday.

A former Dhaka mayor, Khoka went to the US in May 2014 for treatment. He was staying at a house in the Queens.

Khoka was admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan for the last time on Oct 18 after infections developed in his mouth.

A tumour was removed from his trachea on Oct 27.

On receiving the news of deterioration of his father’s health, Ishrak Hossain, Khoka’s elder son, travelled to New York last week.

His father passed away at 1:50pm on Monday (Bangladesh time), said Ishrak in a Facebook post.

BNP acting chief Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir condoled at the death of Khoka and extended sympathy to the bereaved family in statements.

Khoka has been with the BNP since the beginning after parting ways with the National Awami Party.

A former president of the BNP’s Dhaka Metropolitan unit, he is known as a sport organiser as well.

He was elected MP from the Sutrapur-Kotwali seat in 1991 and 2001.

He also served as the fisheries and livestock minister in Khaleda Zia’s cabinet.

A number of corruption cases were initiated against him after he left Bangladesh and he has been sentenced to prison in some of the cases.