People from all walks of life have gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar to pay their last respects to Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder and valiant freedom fighter Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury.

His body reached the Shaheed Minar around 10:05am on Thursday and will be kept there till 1pm.

A Namaz-e-Zanaza will be held at Suhrawardy Uddyan around 2:30pm after which his body will be taken to Bidem's morgue

Dr Zafrullah passed away on Tuesday (11 April) night while undergoing treatment for a critical health condition.

He was admitted to the Nagar Hospital after falling seriously ill on 7 April and was on life support since Monday (10 April).

Paying his respects at the Shaheed Minar, Planning Minister Abdul Mannan said that the void left by Dr Zafar will never be filled. "We have to follow his ideas of love for the motherland," he added.

Rashed Khan Menon, Rabindra Majumder, representatives of Bangladesh Medical Association, Women's Party, Bangladesh NAP and common people came to Shaheed Minar to pay their respects.

The 81-year-old was suffering from kidney complications as well as old age complications.

Dr Zafrullah was a well-known Bangladeshi physician and public health activist. He received his medical degree from Dhaka Medical College in 1966 and later received a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

He was in surgical training in London when the liberation war of Bangladesh erupted in 1971. Hurrying home, he established a field hospital with his colleagues to treat battle casualties.

In 1972, he founded Gonoshasthaya Kendra with the aim of providing healthcare services to underserved communities in Bangladesh.