Police visit Dr Yunus` village home seeking personal details

Police and District Special Branch (DSB) members separately visited the village home of Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus in Najumia Haat in Hathazari upazila in Chattogram, apparently to collect his personal details.

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Madunaghat police outpost went to his house on 3 September and talked to local people. Prior to the Madunaghat police outpost ASI, another ASI of DSB visited the village and quizzed local people about the Nobel laureate.

Speaking on Thursday morning, Dr Yunus’ relative and businessman from Najumia Haat area, Manjur Ali said that an ASI of Madunaghat police outpost went there and asked about Dr Yunus, the number of his children, where they live, their professions, who lives at his village home and so on. The ASI also asked where Dr Yunus lives in Dhaka and about his alma mater, he added.

Manjur Ali further said police talked to local people too. At one stage, he talked to a brother of Dr Yunus over mobile phone and sought detailed information about him. He told in the morning, “Detailed information on Dr Yunus was collected from his village home at the directives of Hathazari police station inspector (intelligence). I talked to his brother too.”

Hathazari police station inspector (intelligence) Md Amir Hossain said, “We just collected the information.” Asked, he said, “The information was collected as asked by DSB. Later, we heard that they collected the information on their own. The information collected by a member of our police outpost was not sent anywhere. We’ve kept it here.”

The District Special Branch of police in Chattogram also collected information on Dr Yunus. Chattogram DSB ASI Moinul Islam went to Dr Yunus’ village home to collect information nearly a week ago, though the exact date is not known.

Speakin on Thursday morning, Moinul Islam said, “None could be found at his village home. People said neither he nor his family members live there. Local people could not give any substantial information regarding Dr Yunus.”

Asked where any high official ordered them to collect the information, Moinul Islam said, “No one said anything. We collected this on our own accord.” When asked why it was suddenly necessary to collect personal information of Dr Yunus, he said, “We've just kept it on record.”

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