Abul Harris Chowdhury, the then political secretary (PS) of Begum Khaleda Zia, a convicted fugitive, passed away. He died at a UK hospital three months ago being infected with coronavirus, according to a report released on Tuesday.
This information was confirmed by Harris Chowdhury's cousin Ashiq Chowdhury on Wednesday. He was about 68 years old at the time of his death and was buried in the United Kingdom.
According to Ashiq Chowdhury, Harish Chowdhury was infected with Covid-19 in London, in mid-August last year. A few days after returning home from the hospital, the Covid report came back negative.
Although he felt a little better temporarily, his lungs were severely damaged. At one point he became seriously ill due to his lung infection getting worse.
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He died at a hospital in London in late September last year. The convicted BNP leader was already suffering from blood cancer and other complications.
He further said that Harris Chowdhury's daughter Mannu Chowdhury, a barrister from London, had informed about the death over phone. Although he died about three and a half months ago, Harris Chowdhury's family kept the news of his death secret. His wife and children live in the UK. His son Johnny Chowdhury is a Petroleum Engineer.
Harris Chowdhury was sentenced to life imprisonment in the grenade attack case on August 21, 2018. On October 29 of the same year, Harris Chowdhury was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined Tk 10 lakh in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. Furthermore, charges were pressed against 28 people including Harris Chowdhury in the murder case of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.
Incidentally, Harris Chowdhury fled to India during the night through the Zakiganj border on January 29 of that year, a week after the state of emergency was declared in the country. After that he migrated to his family in the United Kingdom through Iran.