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Salahuddin in Shillong

How is he doing?

Our Correspondent, Shillong
Set in a serene location, Sunrise Guest House is a lavishly built two-storey building with a neatly furnished drawing room, four large bedrooms, plush bathrooms, a welldecorated library and a spacious, lush lawn at the front. There's also a mini bar with alcoholic beverages.
This is where Salahuddin Ahmed, BNP's joint secretary general, has been staying. The BNP leader is facing trial for illegally entering the state of Meghalaya in India.
Upon a visit to the luxurious guest house on Thursday, this correspondent found that Salahuddin, who has rented two rooms on the first floor, is the lone guest at the house. He was
seen browsing through four newspapers - one Bengali daily and three English dailies - published from Assam.
Apart from his personal assistant, there are a manager, two caretakers and two gardeners at the house, which is located in a highly secure area as it is very close to the local offices of Indian Air Force and an intelligence agency.
Sources at the house said he has rented the rooms for 4,000 Indian rupees (Rs) per day for two months, which amounts to a total of nearly two and a half lakh rupees.
Asked about how he was paying the rent, he refused to make any comment on anything while at the guest house on the ground of being
under constant watch.
However, when this correspondent had met him on the premises of a Shillong court on Wednesday, he had agreed to talk. He had gone there to appear before the court.
"How are your days going in Shillong?" this correspondent had asked.
"Doesn't this go without saying? My health is not that good. I need to see a doctor. My back pain is worsening. I don't want to take the risk of undergoing a surgery. Let's see what the doctors do," Salahuddin answered, buying a betel leaf from a vendor on the premises.
■ Don't you want to return home?"
"Of course I do. But it's a legal
issue, so I won’t comment on this. My lawyer will speak on my behalf," he replied, pointing to his lawyer SP Mahanta, who was standing beside him.
Before the reporter could ask him anything, Mahanta smiled and chipped in, "It's not yet the time to speak about this."
Asked how his Eid day was, Salahuddin went silent for a while and then lamented, "After a long time, I spent an Eid away from my family."
" How long will you stay at the rented guesthouse?" this correspondent asked.
"I won't stay there much long. I am thinking of shifting to a new place," Salahuddin said.
During the conversation, he congratulated Bangladesh cricket team, especially Soumya Sarker and Mustafizur Rahman, for their recent feats against Pakistan, India and South Africa.
WHO PAYS THE RENT?
Indian intelligence sources said
although Salahuddin is supposed to pay nearly Rs 2.4 lakh (Tk 2.9 lakh) for 60 days, he managed to rent it only for Rs 80,000 with the help of some locally influential people.
A high official of Shillong police said, “We will investigate if any payment is being made illegally. We need to know where an intruder is getting the money from."
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said Salahuddin has good ties with a number of influential stone businessmen on Dauki border. "They may have provided him the money."
However, Hilabarth Martho, manager of the guest house, said Safayet Hossain, a nephew of the BNP leader, paidTk 60,000 last month though they are yet to receive the rest of the amount.
The owner of the guest house skirted around a query about Salahuddin's rent payment.
The BNP leader had been arrested on
May 11 by Meghalaya police and sued under the Foreigners Act for trespassing.
He was allegedly picked up by plainclothes officials from a house in Uttara on March 10, according to his family members. The law enforcers, however, denied the allegation.
After the arrest, Salahuddin was initially sent to MIMHANS mental hospital in Shillong and was later shifted to Shillong Civil Hospital.
Later he was admitted to Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science after Salahuddin's wife Hasina Ahmed demanded better treatment for her husband.
Within 23 days of the arrest, Shillong Sub-Inspector M Lamhare submitted the charge sheet accusing Salahuddin only of trespassing.
Two days later, a Shillong court granted Salahuddin conditional bail, making it mandatory for him to appear before the court every week. He was released from the hospital thereafter.