Sheikh Selim’s son-in-law injured, grandson missing in Sri Lanka bombings, Hasina says

Awami League leader Sheikh Selim’s son-in-law has been injured in the bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, according to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Reazul Basharfrom Bruneibdnews24.com
Published : 21 April 2019, 02:46 PM
Updated : 21 April 2019, 05:53 PM

Selim’s minor grandson has also been missing since the attacks, Hasina, who is a relative of the ruling party presidium member, told a programme in Brunei on Sunday.

MP Selim’s daughter Sheikh Amina Sultana Sonia, her husband Moshiul Haque Chowdhary Prince, and their two sons went to visit Sri Lanka recently.

They were staying at a hotel in Colombo that came under attack along with three churches and several hotels during Easter Sunday celebrations.

Prince and their elder son Zayan Chowdhary were at the restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel for breakfast while Sonia and their younger son Zohan Chowdhary were in their room during the blast.

bdnews24.com could not confirm immediately in which hotel the family were in.

The hotels hit in Colombo were the Shangri-La, the Kingsbury, the Cinnamon Grand and the Tropical Inn near the national zoo.

Speaking at a reception by expatriates The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei, Hasina informed all about the incident and urged them to pray.

“Sheikh Selim’s daughter, son-in-law and two children were in Sri Lanka. The son-in-law, Prince, was injured when the restaurant was bombed. He has been hospitalised while there is no trace of the eight-and-a-half-year-old boy.

“Please pray for their safe return,” Hasina said.

Recalling the shootings that killed at least 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand on Mar 15, Hasina said: “This type of terrorists cannot be described in any other ways. They don’t have any religion, race or country. The only thing they do is to destroy people’s lives.”   

“We’ve always kept our intelligence agencies on alert after declaring a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards terrorism. We’ve always taken step whenever we have received any information. There will be no place for terrorism, militancy and drugs in Bangladesh,” she said.    

Hasina, who travelled to Brunei on a three-day official visit earlier in the day, strongly condemned the horrific attacks during Easter Day celebrations, according to a message sent by the media wing of the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka.

In the message, she prayed for peace and salvation of the departed souls and offered her condolences to the grieving families. 

The government said two Bangladeshi tourists, including a child, were unaccounted for after the attacks.

“We are monitoring the situation. We will inform the family as soon as they are traced,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam told the media in Dhaka.

At least 207 people were killed and more than 450 others injured in the bombings, the first major attack on the Indian Ocean island since the end of a civil war 10 years ago.

Seven people were arrested and three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the rash of attacks, some of which officials said were suicide bombs.

The government declared a curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp.