Daughter-in-law of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) top leader Khaleda Zia is going to marry an expatriate Bangladeshi. The private wedding ceremony will take place after Ramadan at BNP’s convicted and fugitive leader Tarique Rahman’s house in London. According to credible source, engagement ceremony of Syeda Sharmila Rahman Sithi, wife of late Arafat Rahman Koko, Khaleda’s eldest son, took place at Tarique’s residence with the attendance of a very limited number of family members. Sithi’s fiancé, a hotelier and wealthy Bangladesh national hails from Sylhet district. He also is one of the top donors of BNP.
The source said, Sithi’s fiancé has two children from his previous marriage. Sithi was having an affair with him since the death of her first husband, Koko. Although it was earlier rumored that Sithi was becoming interested in politics, the source said, her future husband is willing to let her join his business instead.
But another source said, Sithi’s fiancé is willing to help her in becoming active in politics.
Sithi met Khaleda Zia in prison in 2019 for the last time and left Bangladesh with her two daughters. During her stay in Bangladesh, she held series of secret meetings with people who are known for managing huge amount of illegal wealth of the Zia family in different countries in the world. According to sources, Syeda Sharmila Rahman Sithi had held series of clandestine meetings with several mysterious individuals from August 9 to August 18 in 2019. Amongst the individuals Sithi had meeting are Asif A Chowdhury, honorary consul of Chile in Bangladesh, Ashfaq Ahmed, Managing Director of Ahmed & Company, Talat Imam, director of Canadian International Institute, and Sadekul Kabir Bizu, owner of Khazana Restaurant. Sithi also had several secret meetings with a newspaper editor in Malaysia.
It may be mentioned here that, Arafat Rahman Koko died in 2014 due to heart complications in Malaysia. He also was facing several charges in Bangladesh, including corruption cases. During the tenure of BNP, Koko’s name came up as one of the top beneficiaries, who was involved in numerous financial scandals, including high-stake corruptions.
