Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said on Wednesday that handcuffs and leg irons should have been removed when a prisoned BNP leader attended his mother’s funeral on parole in Gazipur on Tuesday.

The minister made the comment while talking to journalists at the conference room of the ministry at the Secretariat.

“I’ve talked with the police about the matter. They said that the matter of locking or unlocking handcuffs is the responsibility of the district administration and the Inspector General of Prison. Police have maintained caution because some militants had escaped from their custody a few days ago. Still, I think the handcuffs of the BNP leader should have been removed during the funeral,” said Hasan.

BNP leader Ali Azam’s mother died due to old age complications on Sunday. To attend her funeral, Azam had requested the Gazipur district administration for his freedom on parole on Monday.  But the administration failed to do so as the formalities could not be completed on that day.

On Tuesday, the district administration granted Azam a three-hour parole to attend his mother’s funeral. Azam was taken home in Boali union of Gazipur’s Kaliakair upazila and was brought back to the prison after the funeral. The incident triggered criticism in media.