Some activists of the BNP were picked up from the residence of the party’s standing committee member Mirza Abbas today, his wife alleged.

Afroza Abbas, president of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal, said plainclothes picked up seven activists from her Shahjahanpur house around 4:00pm.

“When I was returning home after securing bail from the High Court, I heard some plainclothes police had cordoned my house from all corners,” she said.

“Some of the men were accompanying us. When they went out of our house, police took them away. Some of them have been given a good beating,” she alleged.

Talking to The Daily Star, Motijheel zone police’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Shiblee Noman denied the allegation and said it is a rumour.

WHAT HAPPENED AT NAYAPALTAN ON NOV 14?

During the third day of BNP’s nomination form sale at its Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka, clashes broke out between police and BNP supporters and activists.

While several people including policemen were hurt, two police vehicles were set on fire at the spot and many other vehicles vandalised.

BNP blamed police for an unprovoked attack and urged its supporters to calm down and maintain a peaceful atmosphere.

Right after the incident, both Awami League and BNP placed counter allegations for spoiling a peaceful atmosphere that prevailed in the country ahead of the polls.

However, police sued a total of 488 people, including senior BNP leaders Mirza Abbas and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, in three different cases filed over the incident.

Among the accused, at least 72 people were arrested and produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka.

The clash erupted a day after the EC sent a letter to the police urging proper enforcement of the code of conduct of polls ahead of the 11th parliamentary election, scheduled for December 30.

The families of two teenagers killed in Mohammadpur during a clash of Awami League factions ahead of the general election have been robbed of justice.

The family members of one of the victims said police submitted the final report in the case without talking to them. The report mentioned no clash even though it was widely covered by the media at that time. It termed the incident an “accident”.

Councillor Tarequzzaman Rajib of ward-33 also threatened the father of one of the victims not to file a murder case, they said. 

A case was filed after the November 10, 2018, incident and the father of one of the teens was made the plaintiff.  

The father maintains he did not file the case and that the signature on the case document could not be his since he is illiterate. He said Councillor Rajib put a gun to his head and told him to do as he said after the incident. 

The families opened up to this paper only after Rajib was arrested this week. 

On the morning of November 10, 2018, a procession of vehicles, largely comprised of flatbeds, with supporters of AL leader Sadek Khan was going towards the AL Dhanmondi office to buy nomination paper for Sadek’s candidacy in the polls.  

Mohammad Sujon, 19, and Arif Hossain, 14, were on one of the pickup trucks when the procession was attacked allegedly by the men of rival AL leader and then lawmaker Jahangir Kabir Nanak.  

During the melee Sujon and Arif fell off the vehicle and the driver, trying to avoid the brick chunks being hurled at the pickup, reversed and ran the two over, according to case documents, news reports, witness accounts, and statements of the families.  

Sujan and Arif died in hospital. 

Arif’s father Faruk Hossain was taken to a community centre in Mohammadpur when he was on his way to the hospital. He was confined there for 12 hours by Rajib’s men, Faruk told The Daily Star.  

Late at night, Rajib, reportedly Nanak’s ally, at the community centre told Faruk to go to the police station to talk about getting the body of his son. 

Faruk then went to the police station, gave his details, and told the officials there what he knew about the incident. He had no idea that police were filing a case making him the plaintiff. The police officials there asked him to identify the body at the Suhrawardy hospital, Faruk said.  

On his way to the hospital from the police station, two men stopped him near Shia Masjid and took him to Rajib’s home.  

Rajib told him at gunpoint to do as he said regarding the matter, Faruk told The Daily Star.  

“You wouldn’t get anything if you file a murder case. Instead, you will be harassed and face the same consequences as your son. You are from Lalmonhon of Bhola and so am I. Do what I say. You will get a good compensation,” Faruk quoted Rajib as saying. 

Faruk eventually identified his son’s body the next day.

Faruk said, “After the incident, I thought it was police who were the plaintiff in the case.

“This is my NID, sir. See, I can’t sign,” Faruk showed his NID to this correspondent which had his thumb print. 

Faruk said not a single police officer talked to him about the investigation since then. 

Sujon’s uncle Md Riaz told The Daily Star last night that the police never talked to them either.

He said councillor Rajib had promised them compensation and jobs for family members but he never delivered.

Sujon’s family did not know that the final report was submitted. They heard it first from The Daily Star correspondent.

After “investigating” the case for 11 months, police submitted the final report terming the incident an “accident”.

Police had arrested convener of Jubo League’s Adabar Thana unit Arifur Rahman Tuhin in connection with leading the attack but in the final report police said they found no evidence of Tuhin’s involvement.  

Rajib, on behalf of then MP Nanak, had given Arif’s family Tk 30,000 and Sujon’s family Tk 25,000 as burial cost. 

After the incident, AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader said the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to submit a probe report over the incident within two days. 

Whoever is found involved would be given exemplary punishment, he had said, adding that the prime minister wanted to know “who destroyed the peaceful election environment”. 

Sub-Inspector Mukul Ranjan of Mohammadpur police station, investigation officer (IO) of the case, said they submitted the final report of the case in the first week of this month as they could not find any evidence or witnesses. 

Police also could not identify the pickup truck and its driver. 

In the final report, police said the two factions of the ruling party came “face to face” near Mohammadi Homes Ltd on November 10 when the unidentified driver reversed in a hurry and could not see what was behind him. This led to the two getting run over.  

The SI in his investigation found no evidence of the clash. He only said the two faction came “face to face”. The media, however, had extensive coverage of the incident.  

They reported that the attackers, armed with hammers, sharp weapons and brick chunks, swooped on the procession of vehicles.  

The IO said said Faruk did not know what had actually happened and had “filed the case” based on hearsay.  

Taking to this newspaper, the SI claimed that he did not find anything in CCTV footage and no local wanted to be a witness. 

Asked why the IO never contacted Faruk, the IO first claimed that he had contacted him but later said they could not reach him. 

The IO claimed that Faruk had indeed filed the case.  

At one stage of the conversation with this correspondent, the IO said he had written the final report with direction from a superior officer of Tejgaon Division Police. 

Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that he had no knowledge about the development of the case as he joined the division only a few months ago. 

“I will have to see the documents,” he added. 

In November last year, Nanak said he had nothing to do with the attack on the procession.  

Sadek had said that he did not want to blame anyone and demanded a proper investigation. 

The Daily Star could not reach Nanak and Sadek for comments over the last few days.

In today’s episode of ‘The Election Talks 2018’, noted economist Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, a former adviser to a caretaker government, talks with The Daily Star about the election to be held tomorrow.

Dr Zillur Rahman said, "Although hope was created due to the participation of all the political parties, but we stumbled when the campaigning began."

The attacks carried out reportedly on behalf of the ruling party were more in number, he said.

Capturing the field became more important than securing people's vote during the electioneering, he added.

Watch the video to know more!

A Dhaka court yesterday issued warrants for arrest of BNP leader Amanullah Aman and 168 others in a case filed last year under the Explosive Substances Act.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Kazi Md Ashrafuzzaman passed the order after dismissing petitions submitted by Aman and the others, seeking time for extending their bails that expired yesterday.

The court also fixed January 13, 2019 for submission of reports on execution of arrest warrants issued against them.

During the hearing yesterday, Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder told the court that on June 5 last year, their clients secured bail from the High Court till submission of relevant police reports.

Police submitted charge sheet against his clients on November 18 this year, but they could not appear before the court due to various reasons, Advocate Masud said, adding that their bail should be extended till the scheduled date.

On June 4 last year, the case was filed following a clash between two groups of BNP men in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital, injuring Hazratpur Union unit Awami League Organising Secretary Jaher Hossain and several others.