Municipality Polls: Jubo League leader jailed over threat to mayoral candidates

A mobile court has jailed a local Jubo League leader and two of his associates for different terms for threatening mayoral candidates in tomorrow's Jibannagar municipality polls in Chuadanga.

Jummat Mandal, president of Hashanah union Jubo League and also a former UP member, was handed two months' imprisonment, while Ayub Mandal and Pannu Mandal were jailed for six and two months respectively. 

After they were produced before the judicial magistrate's court in the district yesterday afternoon, it sent them to jail.

Members of the mobile court, led by Executive Magistrate Firoz Hossain, said on Thursday night they, along with police personnel, rushed to local Tentulia Bazar on information that Jummat, Ayub and Pannu were threatening mayor runners from rival parties while seeking vote for "boat", the electoral symbol of the ruling Awami League-nominated mayor candidate Rafiqul Islam.

The mobile court found the information to be true and handed the punishment for threatening the mayor candidates and violating the electoral code of conduct, the members added.

In tomorrow's municipal polls, BNP-nominated mayor candidate Shahjahan Kabir is running with "sheaf of paddy" symbol, and Khokon Mia from Islami Andolan with "hand fan".

AL CANDIDATE CLEARED

Hassan Qadir, AL-nominated mayor runner in the district's Alamdanga municipality polls slated for tomorrow, has been cleared of the charges involving threatening voters and a plan to rig votes.

Returning Officer and District Election Officer Tareq Ahmed confirmed the development to The Daily Star yesterday.

On Wednesday, Hassan was served a show-cause notice after Delwar Hossain, president of AL in the municipality, allegedly threatened to prevent anyone from voting for rival party candidates in the polls and planned to rig votes.

Hassan said he replied to the notice and that he was cleared based on the reply.

He said he informed the local election office that he would be careful so that such incidents were not repeated.