Tofail Ahmed laid to rest

Veteran politician and Liberation War organiser Tofail Ahmed was buried in Bhola on Tuesday with state honours, drawing large crowds and cross-party tributes despite intense heat.

His coffin, draped in the national flag, was flown from Dhaka to Bhola by helicopter and reached around 1:15pm, where floral tributes were offered under the state honour protocol.

Thousands of people, including leaders and activists from BNP, Jatiya Party, and supporters of the Awami League and its affiliated bodies, gathered at Bhola Government Boys’ High School ground, turning the venue into a dense gathering of mourners from around 12:30pm.

The second namaz-e-janaza was conducted at the school premises, led by Khatib of Bhola Khalifa Patti Jame Mosque Maulana Jamir Uddin.

Following the prayer, his body was taken to his ancestral home in Koralia village under Sadar upazila, where a second funeral prayer was held at a local mosque before burial at the family graveyard beside his parents’ graves.

Earlier in the day, brief tensions emerged at the school ground when Chhatra Dal activists protested the use of the venue for the janaza, citing past grievances over a similar arrangement.

The situation was later brought under control by BNP leaders and police, allowing proceedings to continue peacefully.
Security was maintained by police and Coast Guard personnel throughout the programme.

Tofail Ahmed, an eight-time Member of Parliament and a key figure in the 1969 mass uprising and Liberation War, died on Monday at around 4pm at Square Hospital in Dhaka. He was 82. He had also served as Commerce Minister and Industries Minister.