Latif Siddique falls ill on third day of hunger strike over campaign attack

Former Awami League minister Abdul Latif Siddique has fallen ill on the third day of his hunger strike against attack on his convoy during election campaign in Tangail.

Ousted from the party, cabinet and parliament months after the 2014 elections for comments on hajj and Tabligh Jamaat, he is contesting in the Dec 30 election for the Tangail-4 constituency as an independent candidate.

He has accused supporters of Awami League candidate Hasan Imam Khan Sohel Hazari of attacking his convoy at Kalihati’s Gohaliabari Union during his campaign last Sunday.

Alleging that the attackers threw brickbats injuring several of his supporters and damaging four vehicles, he started a sit-in inside a tent in front of the returning officer’s office on that day.

He demands that the attackers be arrested, Kalihati Police Station OC Mir Mosharraf Hossain withdrawn, and no more attack by Sohel Hazari’s men be assured.

He says he will fast, until death if necessary, and not return home until his demands are met.

A medical team of eight physicians was formed on Tuesday to treat Latif Siddique following Tangail Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Md Shahidul Islam’s orders when Latif Siddique fell ill.

Tuesday is his 82nd birthday, according to his wife Laila Siddique, a former MP. 

“He was taken to a veranda in the DC’s office as water started dripping into the tent during rains early in the morning. He started feeling unwell later,” Laila said.

Doctor Mofazzal Hossain, a senior consultant at Tangail General Hospital’s cardiology department, is heading the medical board.

“He is getting weak as he is not taking medication,” the doctor told bdnews24.com.

Latif Siddique was given oxygen during medical tests in the afternoon.

“I am weak physically, but not mentally. My demands must be fulfilled. Otherwise, I will not break the fast even it means I will die,” he told the media at the time. 

The politician has high blood pressure and two rings had been put in his heart due to cardiac problems, according to Laila.

He needs to take medicine before and after taking meals thrice a day, she said.

It was a matter of shame for the pro-independence people to attack the convoy of an organiser of the Liberation War, she added.

The returning officer said he had written to the Election Commission conveying Latif Siddique’s demands. 

Police arrested four people on charges of attacking Latif Siddique’s motorcade, OC Mosharraf said and added that a court sent the four to jail pending trial in the evening.

The arrestees are Md Salahuddin, Md Maruf, Md Latif and Joynal Abedin.