Asif Nazrul and Nasiruddin Patwari’s ‘Goat Incident’

The disappearance of a pet goat from the official residence of former interim government Law Adviser Mr Asif Nazrul on Hare Road in late 2024 sparked widespread discussion. Mr Asif Nazrul had accused NCP leaders of stealing and eating the goat. After all this time, NCP spokesperson and widely discussed leader Nasiruddin Patwari has responded to the allegation of “eating the goat.” Speaking to journalists on Sunday at the official residence of the opposition leader, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Amir, on Minto Road in the capital, Nasiruddin Patwari claimed that both of Mr Asif Nazrul’s goats should have been eaten. He also criticised those concerned for not eating one of the goats.

Earlier, he had attended an emergency preparatory meeting of the liaison committee of the 11-party alliance ahead of its long march to Rangpur. Nasiruddin Patwari said one of Mr Asif Nazrul’s goats had been eaten, whereas, in his view, both should have been eaten. He condemned those concerned for leaving one uneaten. At the same time, he commented that Mr Asif Nazrul was “not a very good person.”

The NCP leader further said that during the interim government, former Law Adviser Mr Asif Nazrul had started raising cows, goats and chickens, and police security had also been provided at the place where the animals were kept. However, those involved in eating the goat could have eaten the other one as well if they had the opportunity. Rejecting the claim that he was being framed over the theft and eating of the goat, the NCP leader said, “I saw who stole and ate the goat and what they ate. I condemn them for not eating one goat. I am telling them to eat the other one too. If they get the opportunity, they will eat the other one as well.”

Earlier, Mr Asif Nazrul spoke in detail about the theft of his younger daughter’s pet goat on the talk show Thikanay Khaled Muhiuddin. He described the incident as one of the most heartbreaking experiences of his life. Mr Asif Nazrul said he lived alone at the official residence on Hare Road. Therefore, the goat had been bought as a companion for his nine-and-a-half-year-old younger daughter. Within a short time, the girl developed a deep bond with the animal. The goat also developed a kind of connection with the girl’s going to and returning from school. She even used a picture of herself with the goat as her phone wallpaper instead of a picture of her mother.

Mr Asif Nazrul said his daughter was emotionally devastated after the goat was stolen. He also said that she became ill after vomiting while crying and went without food for nearly a day and a half.

According to Mr Asif Nazrul, although the incident of the adviser’s goat being stolen and eaten had been portrayed as political revenge, the goat had actually been taken as a prank. However, he described stealing and eating a child’s pet as extremely cruel and inhumane. He further said that the claim that the goat had been stolen and eaten as part of a political dispute or protest involving student leaders was not true.

Notably, the disappearance of Mr Asif Nazrul’s younger daughter’s pet goat from his official residence on Hare Road in late 2024, when he was serving as the Law Adviser to the interim government, had sparked widespread discussion in political circles and on social media.