Jailed Khaleda has Eid lunch with relatives at BSMMU

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia has eaten her Eid-ul-Fitr day lunch with the her relatives at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University or BSMMU.

Convicted in two corruption cases, the BNP chairperson is undergoing treatment in the hospital under the supervision of the jail authorities.

It is her third Eid since she was put to jail in February last year. The 73-year-old, who is suffering from arthritis and diabetes, was admitted to the hospital in April this year.

On Wednesday, she spent two hours with her relatives at her Cabin No 621.

The prison authorities allow maximum seven relatives to meet her, a rule the BNP criticises.

Her sister Selina Islam, Selina’s husband Rafiqul Islam, Khaleda’s brother late Sayeed Eskander’s wife Nasrin Eskander, brother Shamim Eskander’s son Abhik Eskander and nephew Saiful Islam Duke’s daughter Tamanna Haque met her in the hospital on the Eid day.

Shahina Khan Zaman Bindu, elder sister of Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman’s wife Zubaida Rahman, and Mokhrema Reza, mother-in-law of Khaleda’s late son Arafat Rahman Coco, also met the former premier.

The authorities took the relatives of Khaleda to the cabin on the fifth floor.

They took Polau, roasted chicken, rezala, and fried fish for Khaleda. Vermicelli in milk and sweets were also there for the BNP chief. The relatives greeted her with flowers.

They left the hospital aeound 2:45pm after the visit, Shamsuddin Didar, a member of the BNP chairperson’s press wing, told bdnews24.com.

Officials at the hospital said Khaleda has a chair, a table, bed and a dressing table in her cabin. Her maid Fatema Begum stays in another room next to her cabin.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the authorities did not allow any members of the party to visit Khaleda on the Eid day.

Some leaders of the Mohila Dal and pro-BNP Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh or DAB were denied entry to the hospital when they went to meet her.