Dhaka: BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed’s wife Hasina Ahmed on Tuesday said she wants to take her husband to Singapore for better treatment from Civil Hospital in India’s Shillong where he is being treated in police custody.

‘We want to shift him (Salahuddin) to a third country, and we prefer Singapore. He’s been receiving treatment in Singapore for various complications for nearly 20 years. He had undergone surgeries thrice in Singapore. He had also been receiving treatment for kidney disease (before went missing) in Singapore. So, we want to take him there,’ she said.

Hasina Ahmed was talking to reporters after meeting her husband for the second time at the Shillong hospital in the morning.

She also said they are consulting Shillong’s renowned criminal lawyer SP Mahanta over the legal complications to shift Salahuddin to a third country or taking him back home.

Meghalaya police arrested BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed on 11 May as he was hanging around aimlessly in Golf Links area of Shillong after nearly two months of his disappearance. Since he had no valid papers, identity proof or travel permit, he was arrested by Meghalaya police and booked under the Foreigners Act.

On 12 May, Salahuddin Ahmed phoned his wife Hasina from Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health & Neurological Science (MIMHANS) of India asking her to go there.

BNP assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony who is also staying in Shillong said that Hasina went to under trial prisoners (UTP) cell at the Shillong Civil Hospital at about 11:00am on Tuesday and stayed there for nearly 30 minutes.

He said the couple discussed various issues, including the legal procedure, to secure Salahuddin’s release from police custody.

Talking to reporters after meeting her husband, Hasina said, ‘Salahuddin’s health condition is deteriorating fast. He even can’t stand for two minutes straight. He needs better treatment immediately.’

She also said her husband’s kidney problem is getting worse and complicated.