Former minister and Awami League leader Dipu Moni was released on a 12-hour parole on Thursday to attend the funeral prayer of her husband, Supreme Court lawyer Toufiq Nawaz. She was brought from Munshiganj Jail to Dhaka under tight police security, with arrangements made to allow her to spend a limited period with family before attending the funeral.
Dipu Moni left Munshiganj Jail at around 6.15am. Police escorted her to Dhaka, and she reached her residence in Kalabagan at approximately 8.15am. Family members, relatives and a small number of acquaintances were present at the house as she spent time with them following her husband’s death.
Toufiq Nawaz’s body was also taken to the Kalabagan residence in the morning. It was kept in a freezer van parked in the garage of the building. Five people, including a muezzin from a nearby mosque, were seen sitting beside the body and reciting the Quran. Relatives and family members gathered there to pay their final respects in an atmosphere marked by grief.
A relative said Dipu Moni had been deeply distressed since her husband’s death. She was reportedly struggling to eat and finding it difficult to cope with the loss. Several people visited her to offer condolences, including Awami League leader Zakia Sultana Shefali from Chandpur and some party workers accompanying her.
Shefali said Dipu Moni was not well emotionally and that her condition was understandable given the loss of a close family member.
Police maintained heightened security around Dipu Moni’s residence from the early hours of Thursday. Officers monitored people entering and leaving the premises and asked visitors about their identities and reasons for being there. Additional surveillance was also maintained in the surrounding area.
According to the family’s arrangements, Toufiq Nawaz’s body was later taken to Azad Mosque in Gulshan, where his funeral prayer was scheduled to be held after Zuhr prayers. Following the funeral, preparations were made to bury him at Banani Cemetery.
Kalabagan police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Fazle Ashik said Dipu Moni would remain inside the prison van during the funeral prayer. If time permitted, she could also be taken to the cemetery to attend the burial. However, once the authorised parole period ended, she would have to return to jail. Her parole was approved until 6pm on Thursday.
Toufiq Nawaz, aged 76, died at a private hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday night while undergoing treatment. He had reportedly been suffering from complications involving his kidneys and liver for a considerable period.
Dipu Moni is currently detained at Munshiganj Jail after being arrested in connection with several cases filed following the 2024 political movement. Her temporary release was granted specifically to enable her to attend her husband’s final rites.
The journey from Kalabagan to Gulshan was conducted under strict security, with the vehicle carrying Nawaz’s body travelling alongside the prison van carrying Dipu Moni. The scene reflected the unusual circumstances surrounding a deeply personal farewell, as the former minister was given only a brief opportunity to stand beside her family and pay her final respects to her husband of many years.
