‘Resignation is not enough’: BNP leader Rizvi demands Murad’s arrest

BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has demanded the arrest of State Minister for Information Murad Hassan after he was ordered to resign.

“Resignation is not enough. The government must order his arrest and ensure his punishment,” Rizvi said in a media briefing in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered Murad to resign from his cabinet post on Monday after a scandalous audio leak went viral on social media.

The 47-year-old has been in the eye of a social media storm for his untoward remarks on former prime minister Khaleda Zia's granddaughter, prompting calls from the BNP for his resignation.

Amid the furore, an audio clip of a telephone conversation began to circulate on Facebook. In the audio record purported to have his voice, Murad was heard using a stream of obscene words and threatening to drag an actress into a five-star hotel and rape her.

Actress Mahiya Mahi later took to social media and confirmed that it was her in the phone conversation with Murad. The conversation took place two years ago, according to her.

Murad emailed his letter of resignation to his office on Tuesday.

“A person like Murad has no rightful place in politics. The obscene language used by him proves his inability to be a politician. Murad must be removed from every engagement he belongs to in his existing party. Sacking him only from the cabinet is not enough,” Rizvi said.

Murad had once been a member of Chhatra Dal, the student affiliate of BNP, while studying at Mymensingh Medical College. He joined the Awami League student outfit Bangladesh Chhatra League afterwards.

Murad, son of Jamalpur Awami League leader Matiur Rahman Talukder, was elected to parliament from Jamalpur-4 (Sarishabari, Mesta and Titpalya) on an Awami League ticket in the 2008 parliamentary election. Then, in 2018, he was elected again.

He was initially inducted into the cabinet as the state minister for health but transferred to the information ministry in May 2019.