Many people happy at arrest

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Terming the arrest of Tarique Rahman, BNP’s senior joint secretary general, an expected action, a cross section of people yesterday urged the government to ensure exemplary punishment of the corrupt regardless of their political and family identity.

They said the authorities should immediately make public specific and detailed corruption charges against Tarique as well an estimate of his wealth.

Meanwhile, the arrest of Tarique Rahman was talk of the town yesterday. The main topic of discussion among people at all levels of the society was Wednesday night’s drive by the joint forces and arrest of allegedly corrupt political leaders, particularly Tarique, son of immediate past prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Many of the people labelled Tarique as the most corrupt person in the country.

“I believe the present caretaker government’s drive to combat graft is a sincere endeavour, and not an eyewash, to punish the corrupt,” a business leader said in his reaction on the arrest of Tarique.

He suggested the government to enact new laws so that the big fishes can’t get away through the loopholes of the existing laws.

Preferring anonymity, a top business leader said Tarique Rahman is one of the most corrupt people, but the government should continue its drive to bring to book all those for whom Bangladesh was branded as the most corrupt country in the world.

People will be more happy if the move continues to prove a well intended one, he said.

And it will encourage honest, sincere and patriotic people to join politics to build a prosperous Bangladesh.

Mainul, a student, said, ” People like Tarique should be punished in a way so that no one dares to loot public wealth in future.”

It was seen that the news of Tarique’s arrest did not come as a surprise to most people.

“This is a news for which most people in the country were waiting since the present caretaker government launched the drive against corruption, ” said Mostafizur Rahman, a private company executive.

A BNP leader of Ramna thana unit in the capital however said not all the corruption allegations against Tarique Rahman is true.

“Even if he had resorted to any corrupt practices, it would be very difficult to prove that since he was not directly involved in these misdeeds. He is a dynamic and talented political leader. And obviously he has used his talent also in doing mischiefs, if any,” he said, seeking anonymity.

A number of people said they waited almost the whole of Wednesday night in front of television sets for the latest news about the arrest of Tarique and to see footage on this. But their long wait proved futile as journalists were not allowed to enter the cantonment where he was arrested.

They came to know about his arrest only when he was taken to an unknown destination.

“If the residence of Tarique was not located inside the cantonment, we could have seen the footage on his arrest,” said Kamrul Islam, a businessman.

In the early morning yesterday, people rushed to collect newspapers and copies of most of those were sold out before noon.

Expressing satisfaction over the arrest of Tarique Rahman, many students of Dhaka University said corruption charges against him should be made public. “The government must have collected strong evidences to put him on trial so that so that he cannot slip through legal loopholes,” said one student, Russell Rahman.

Another student said Tarique should have been arrested much earlier. He demanded arrest of all his corrupt associates.

Mahfuzur Rahman, also a DU student, said, ” We were hearing for quite some time that Tarique might be arrested soon but we had doubts about this. But now his arrest proves that none is above law.”

Many other students echoed his feelings.

Mina Hasan, a female student, said she is waiting to see punishment of Tarique because he was allegedly at the centre of the rampant corruption in the last five years of the BNP-Jamaat rule.

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