Sadeque Hossain Khoka, the former mayor of undivided Dhaka City Corporation and a BNP vice-chairman, died yesterday at a hospital in the US after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.
Khoka, who was also a freedom fighter, breathed his last at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City around 1:50pm Bangladesh time, according to the BNP chairperson’s media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan, reports UNB.
On his Facebook page, Khoka’s son Ishraque Hossain also wrote that his father passed away at New York time 2:50am. “I will announce further information on behalf of my family.”
Later in another post, Israque said the first namaz-e-janaza was scheduled to be after the Esha prayers, around 7:30pm New York time, at the Jamaica Muslim Center yesterday.
Quoting Ishraque, Sayrul said Khoka’s family has decided to bring his body back home, and bury him at the Jurain Graveyard beside the graves of his parents as per his last wish.
Khoka had been undergoing treatment at the New York hospital since October 18 for cancer and some other diseases.
“Initially, his condition was stable, but it continued to worsen since last Tuesday,” Ishraque told UNB on Saturday.
He said doctors stopped giving his father treatment for cancer a few days back as he was not in a condition to receive it.
Khoka, who was convicted in two graft cases in 2015 and 2018 in absentia, is survived by his wife Ismat Ara, daughter Sarika Sadeque and son Ishraque, and a host of relatives, followers and well-wishers to mourn his death.
He and his wife went to the US in 2014 for treatment. Validity of their passports had expired in 2017.
Sayrul said Ishraque has already contacted the Bangladesh Mission in New York for the travel permit to bring his father’s body home.
Once the travel permit is issued, Sayrul said, the family members will fix the time and date for bringing the BNP leader’s mortal remains back.
Govt to help with travel permit
Reached for comment, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday evening told Dhaka Tribune that there would be full cooperation from the government in bringing back the veteran politician’s body.
“Sadeque Hossain Khoka was a freedom fighter and a full cabinet minister as well as a mayor. We mourn his death and our consulate general in New York will issue travel permits for Sadeque Hossain Khoka and his wife as soon as possible,” the minister said.
He added: “There will undoubtedly be full cooperation on the part of the government in respect of bringing the body back home.”
Earlier in the day, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had urged the government to take necessary steps so Khoka’s body could be brought back from the US for burial as per his last wish.
Later, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on a Facebook post yesterday also said that the Bangladesh Mission in New York was ready to issue a “travel permit” if Khoka’s family applies for it.
Meanwhile, BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Secretary General Fakhrul and many other leaders of the party have expressed deep shock at Khoka’s death.
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Bikalpadhara President AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain and General Secretary Reza Kibria, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader, and Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Quader Siddique, among others, also expressed profound shock and extended condolences to his family.
Liberation War to Nagar Bhaban
Born in May 12, 1952 in Dhaka, Sadeque Hossain Khoka was a student at Dhaka University when he fought in the 1971 Liberation War as a guerrilla freedom fighter.
He stepped into politics by joining Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani’s National Awami Party (NAP).
Later, he joined BNP, and was made party’s Dhaka city unit president.
Khoka was elected MP for the first time in 1991 from Dhaka 7 constituency (Sutrapur-Kotwali) and subsequently made state minister for youth and sports. He also won from the same seat in 1996 and 2001.
After the 2001 national election, he was given the charge of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
The next year, Khoka contested the Dhaka City Corporation election and was elected mayor. He held the post for nearly nine years.
Arrest and cases
The veteran BNP leader was also arrested days before the January 5 national election in 2014.
Released on bail from jail, Khoka was admitted to Birdem Hospital, but doctors could not exactly detect his health problem.
Later, he went to the US on May 14, 2014 and has been living and receiving treatment there since then.
On October 20, 2015, a Dhaka court sentenced him in absentia to 13 years of imprisonment in a case for amassing wealth worth about Tk10.52 crore illegally and concealing information about that.
On April 2, 2008, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Shamsul Alam had filed the graft case at Ramna police station against Khoka and his family members.
On November 28, 2018, another court sentenced Khoka and three others to 10 years of imprisonment in a case filed over alleged corruption in leasing out a multi-storey car parking lot in the city’s Banani area.
On February 15, 2012, ACC Assistant Director M Mahbubul Alam had filed this case at Shahbagh police station over misappropriation of Tk30.82 lakh from the car parking project.
