Eyebrows raised in both parties

Raozan BNP leader Salamat Ali joining the Awami League a few hours after his release from police custody surprised leaders of both parties in Chittagong, and questions were raised over the way he was freed by the law enforcers.

While Chittagong city BNP President Ameer Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said he was forced to join the ruling party, an AL leader called the process of his admittance "unfair".

Salamat, joint convener of Raozan upazila BNP, joined the AL on Monday, the day he was released from police custody after being arrested the day before in two cases.

President of Noapara Union unit AL Didarul Alam, who got the BNP leader released, welcomed him to the AL and said Salamat joined on his own accord.

The two cases facing Salamat involved the murder of Awami Jubo League leader Mubarak in 2013 and a clash with police this February.

Officer-in-Charge of Raozan Police Station Pradip Kumar Das said Salamat was released because they did not know the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was investigating the murder case, dropped charges against him, while in the other case they found him innocent after a few hours' investigation.

However, a lawyer of Chittagong District Judge's court said an individual accused in a case must be produced before court in 24 hours of their arrest.

Advocate Iftekhar Saimul Chowdhury, also legal affairs secretary of AL's city unit, said the way Salamat was released was a violation of the law.

An accused person could be released only if police submit the final report to the court, praying for their release, he told The Daily Star.

Ameer Khasru said the AL was now ruling the country like “Hitler” and was coercing BNP leaders countrywide into joining the party.

“Look at the sequence… a man was going to join the BNP iftar party and was picked up by police on the way… the next day he was released and appeared at AL's office to join AL… it is a very simple equation to understand,” he said, adding, “If police arrest a person, he should be either in jail or be freed in bail… why did he end up at AL's office?”

Salamat was not available for comments.

Meanwhile, MA Salam, general secretary of Chittagong north district unit AL, said the process of Salamat's entry into the AL was not “fair”. “The local leaders did not consult with us before they decided to accept Salamat,” he said. “...I don't support it.”

He added, “We have a lot of qualified leaders and we don't need to take in leaders from other parties when people may question the process.”

Moslem Uddin Ahmed, president of Chittagong south district unit AL, said, "So far I have known it from newspapers; the whole process seems inconsistent to me.”

Veteran leader and Chittagong city AL President Mohiuddin Chowdhury dismissed the incident as a "petty" affair and declined to comment.

On Thursday, a pro-BNP Krishak Dal leader in Rajshahi joined the AL.