Govt suspends 55 UP chairmen, members

The local government ministry has suspended 55 union parishad chairmen and members in connection with the violence unleashed by Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Islami Chhatra Shibir in February after a tribunal had handed down capital punishment to Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee for his war crimes.
It issued letters on Monday asking them to hand over responsibility to the panel chairmen within three days, sources in the ministry said.
Of them 32 are from Jhinaidah, 21 from Satkhira and one each from Rajshahi and Manikganj districts.
With this, the number of UP chairmen and members suspended on similar ground rose to 86 with 31 of them suspended on June 31.
Cases against them have been filed under the Speedy Trial Tribunal act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, said the sources.
Local Government Secretary Abu Alam Mohammad Shaheed Khan said they were legally bound to take actions against the chairmen and members since they had instigated attacks on people, instead of protecting them during the Jamaat-Shibir violence.
“As elected representatives, they can't be involved in such a criminal offence. They were supposed to protect the people who elected them,” he said when contacted.
Action is being taken against them on the basis of police investigation reports and charge sheets, he said.
In reply to a question, the secretary said most of those suspended are either BNP or Jamaat men since supporters of the two parties were protesting the verdict against Sayedee,   and not those of other parties including the Awami League.
“Similar action would be taken against the persons belonging to any other party if their involvement in the violence is proved in investigation,” the secretary said.
More chairmen and members might be suspended since investigation into the countrywide violence was yet to finish, he added.