Salahuddin's candidature questioned by councillor

A councillor from Chittagong challenged the candidatures of Kazi Salahuddin, Ahsrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu and Golam Rabbani Helal for the April 28 elections of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
Councillor Shamsul Haque Chowdhury in a complaint against the three ace footballers on Monday night demanded that they had hidden information prescribed in section nine and ten in their respective nomination papers which was a gross violation.
The two sections actually referred to information on whether the candidate was earlier found guilty in any criminal offence, and whether the candidate was earlier convicted under the criminal offence.
While Salahuddin, who is contesting for the presidency, and his two former national and Abahani teammates declared them innocent in the nomination form, Haque with a strong recollection of history, argued it. It might sound weird but the fact is that Haque demanded in his appeal that the three former players were landed in jail while recalling the sad day of September 21 in 1982 when four Abahani players (including the aforesaid three players) were arrested from the Bangabandhu National Stadium in charge of beating up an assistant referee during the match against Mohammedan. The next day, the then military ruler found the four players guilty in a one-day trial under the Marshal Law. They were however freed from prison after 17 days following the President's mercy.
Salahuddin, the finest footballer the country has ever produced and a man, whose dignity has never been questioned, had to live with that painful event for over two decades. But it was beyond his wildest dreams that someone would bring back that nightmare.
"I don't believe any Bangladeshi can raise this matter after 26 years as the whole nation knows what happened at that time. I don't want to believe it and it is impossible to believe that someone in the sports arena raised the question," said a shell-shocked Salahuddin.
Shamsul Haque, who certainly has nose for news, was however unavailable to give his version of the story despite repeated attempts from The Daily Star Sport to reach his cell phone.
Meanwhile, chief election commissioner Mezbah Uddin informed the reporters that the hearing would take place at the BFF Bhaban today in presence of both the complainant and the defendants.