Ex-minister Dipu Moni granted 12-hour parole after husband’s death

Former education minister Dipu Moni, who is currently incarcerated, has been granted 12 hours of parole to attend the funeral of her husband, Supreme Court lawyer Tawfique Nawaz, who died on Tuesday night.

Munshiganj Additional District Magistrate Rezaul Karim said Dipu Moni will be released from jail at 6am on Thursday and must return by 6pm. Her lawyer, Md Faisal Hossain, said the parole application was submitted to the district administration on Wednesday afternoon after consulting with Dipu Moni.

According to Faisal, Dipu Moni will first go to her residence in Kalabagan before attending her husband’s funeral prayers at Gulshan Azad Mosque after Zuhr prayers. She will then join the burial at Banani Graveyard before returning to prison.

The parole decision followed a visit by Dipu Moni’s daughter, Tani Deepavali Nawaz, to Munshiganj jail to discuss the timing and duration of the application. Jail Superintendent Md Jannat-ul Farhad confirmed the meeting.

Tawfique Nawaz, 76, died at Continental Hospital in Dhaka after suffering from long-term kidney and liver complications. A Supreme Court lawyer, he was also a practitioner of classical music and had suffered a stroke in 2019. He was last seen in public on May 27, when relatives took him to court in a wheelchair to meet his incarcerated wife.

Dipu Moni has remained in custody since her arrest in several cases filed after the July 2024 Uprising that led to the fall of the Awami League government. Although she has obtained bail in several cases from the High Court, she remains detained due to other pending cases in Dhaka and Munshiganj.

Her daughter had previously applied for seven days of parole in May, citing Tawfique’s illness, but the request was not granted.

-HIS