A woman’s conversation with National Citizens Party (NCP) joint convener Sarwar Tushar has gone viral. The woman on the other side is also a leader of the party.
NCP leader Neela Israfil admitted it herself in a post on her verified Facebook account on Thursday. The post is highlighted below:
My name is Neela Israfil.
Whether I am a member of NCP or not –
I am a fighter. ✊
I used to drive a Lexus to my in-laws’ house. There were 26 servants. There was no shortage of comfort and luxury. But after getting a bad offer, I did not spare my late father-in-law’s advisor Sufi, even the hideous Hasan Arif, who was hiding behind his face.
I fought the entire society and the state because it did not go with my ethics and protested the injustice of the most powerful man in Bangladesh.
I know no one will believe what I have said.
This is unbelievable. I knew that society would throw me out on the street for disrespecting such a handsome, so noble, so respected man.
But even knowing that, I sought redress for the injustice done to me—despite countless temptations, I did not compromise. As a result, 19 cases were filed in my name, no lawyer stood up against One Eleven’s advisor, former Attorney General Hasan Arif.
My youngest daughter was born in prison, I have not been able to sleep with my two daughters together until now.
In 2020, my unborn child was kicked to death.
I am still fighting with the late advisor Hasan Arif, the judiciary of Bangladesh, the police and the DB.
How do you expect me not to protest against Tushar’s treatment of me?
I actively participated in the mass uprising. During the mass uprising, Hasan Arif threw me out of the house, leaving my two children behind, because I had taken to the streets to protest. He told me that because of me, the Awami League would reach home.
During this time, I developed friendly relations with the leaders and activists of the anti-discrimination movement that had emerged with the mass uprising. They stood up against the injustice done to me.
I am a talented, energetic and creative person. As a result, I used to talk to various leaders and activists of the movement since August. I met Tushar then and had organizational and political talks with him before the birth of the NCP.
Last December, after my ex-husband Muaz tried to kill me with a steak knife in front of everyone at the Dhaka Club, human rights activists in Bangladesh including Shahidul Bhai, Sara Apa, Fazia Karim Aunty became worried about my safety. That is why human rights activist Rezaur Rahman Lenin sent me to Nepal. Since going to Nepal, Tushar used to call me often and his style of conversation started changing. He kept approaching me in different ways—
“Give me your picture,”
“Your lips are beautiful,”
“Your slogans, your protesting voice attract me.”
I always felt embarrassed by such conversations with Tushar and requested him to keep our relationship organized and formal.
Since the new politics of Bangladesh, the NCP, is the mainstay of my life, I kept Tushar in control of his aggressive behavior and maintained the relationship formally. Many women in Bangladesh have to maintain such relationships with powerful men.
I returned to Bangladesh on February 28, the day of the NCP’s debut. One day during Ramadan, Tushar said something very offensive to me.
I felt embarrassed by this conversation, which had previously crossed the limits of all conversations, and told him that I did not want to talk anymore. But Tushar kept pressuring me in various ways to talk.
At one point, Tushar told me that the detective police or DB had spoken to him, and that he wanted to talk to me about it.
Since I was a warranted defendant in the case of Advisor Hasan Arif at the time and Tushar had told me about DB, I felt that the matter must be a legal, important discussion related to DB and police, and there might be some threat to my safety—I recorded the conversation.
I recorded 47 minutes of the conversation that lasted about an hour and a half.
Tushar told me that DB had asked him about Neela Israfil and he had told DB that Neela was his girlfriend—which I asked Tushar about.
We also discussed Tushar’s bad proposal.
I asked him if there was any attitude, behavior or conduct of mine that made me think that such a proposal could be made to me?
Tushar told me to forget the matter.
But I informed human rights activist Rezaul Karim Lenin and Tushar’s ex-girlfriend Bithi Saptarshi about Tushar’s bad proposal and DB’s contact with Tushar. Since it was a matter of my security and DB, for my own safety, I also shared the audio of the conversation with Tushar with journalist Zulkarnain Sayer. Considering the threat to my security and my situation, I allow it to be published if necessary.
Although I was deeply hurt, I did not raise the issue of Tushar’s objectionable conversation even though I told my close friends, but instead tried to deal with the issue confidentially in an organizational manner.
But Tushar did not give me that opportunity. The issue affected my professional life.
He started telling my associates, “You have to stay away from Neela.”
He kept influencing me in various ways to keep me away from NCP, keep me away from various cells, keep me away from the cultural cell, women’s wing, metropolitan committee.
On the night of Qurbani, I met Nahid at a function and told Nahid about the issue.
Nahid told me
