Mayoral candidate Chan among 22 charge-sheeted

Police filed charge sheet in the case for killing Bangladesh Chhatra League leader Saidur Rahman Faruk for the third time against 22 people including Barisal City Corporation (BCC) mayoral candidate Ebaidul Huq Chan, a councillor candidate, two union parishad chairmen and local BNP leaders.
Twenty-two people including Barisal City Corporation (BCC) mayoral candidate Ebaidul Huq Chan, a councillor candidate, two union parishad chairmen and local BNP leaders have been made accused in the third charge sheet in the case for killing Bangladesh Chhatra League leader Saidur Rahman Faruk in 2002.
Mir Kashem, Sub Inspector of Barisal Kotwali Police Station, filed the charge sheet to Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court that recorded it yesterday.
The charge sheeted people include BCC mayoral candidate Ebaidul Huq Chan, also former district BNP secretary, president of Barisal Chamber of Commerce and Industries and director of FBCCI, Asaduzzaman Maruf, councillor candidate of ward No 4 of BCC, Bazlul Huq Kayes, former ward commissioner and younger brother of Chan, Ataharul Islam Chowdhury Babul, youth secretary of district BNP, Shahidul Hassan Anis, city JCD publicity secretary, Sajjad Hossain Molla and Ziaul Hassan Jewel, chairmen of Rangosree and Dudhol union parishads of Bakerganj upazila under Barisal district.
Saidur Rahman Faruk, vice president of district BCL and vice president of Barisal College students union, was tortured and left seriously wounded beside a road at Fakirbari in the city on January 24, 2002.
He succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Millennium Heart and General Hospital on February 7, 2002. In this connection, Sub-Inspector Sharif Ataur Rahman lodged a case with Barisal Kotwali Police Station on February 12, 2002 without mentioning any name of accused but it was not properly investigated allegedly due to political influence.
Sirajul Islam, sub-inspector of Kotwali Police Station, submitted charge sheet in this case on April 20, 2006 against 19 people but names of Chan or any other BNP leader were not included in it.
Family members of the victim filed a naraji (objection) petition against the charge sheet but Nazrul Islam of the Detective Branch of Barisal police after re-investigation filed charge sheet against the same 19 accused on October 26, 2006.
After declaration of emergency in January last year, the victim's brother Harun Sikdar lodged a case with a magistrate's court on April 24 the same year against 28 accused including Chan and other BNP leaders and it was recorded as a regular murder case with Barisal Kotwali Police Station.
After seven months' investigation, the IO submitted a charge sheet to Hayatul Islam, assistant commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, accusing the above-mentioned 22 people in March this year.
But the charge sheet was not forwarded to the court for starting trial procedure allegedly due to pressure from certain quarters of the government agencies.
Barisal Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khan Sayeed Hasan on April 20 this year wrote to the police headquarters for quick action in this regard.
With permission from the police headquarters, police yesterday submitted the charge sheet to the court.