Ward councillors refuse to accept acting mayor

A day after the suspension of Sylhet City Corporation (CCC) mayor for his being charge sheeted in Kibria murder case, the LGRD ministry's notification over acting mayor is facing protest from most of the ward councillors.

On Tuesday, through a notification signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Saroj Kumar Nath, the ministry endorsed panel mayor-1 Rezaul Hasan Lodi to serve the SCC as its acting mayor since the elected mayor, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, was suspended the same day.

But, the decision sparked much protest from the ward councillors, who had expressed of having no confidence against Lodi in June last year.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon at the SCC hall room, the councillors said they had already expressed of having no confidence to the ministry.

Councillors Rezwan Ahmed (independent), Mokhlisur Rahman (pro-AL) and Farhad Chowdhury Shamim (BNP-backed), among others, addressed the conference.

Besides, panel mayor-2 Saleh Ahmed Chowdhury had served as acting mayor during Ariful's official trip to China in October last year with approval from the ministry, they said.

On the other hand, former organising secretary of the city BNP Rezaul was charge sheeted and arrested in a case filed for vandalising Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar and killing, filed after the February 22 incident of 2013.

The ward councillors demanded withdrawal of the notification.

Ariful was implicated in the third supplementary charge sheet submitted to a Habiganj court by CID on November 13 last year.

SAMS Kibria was assassinated in a grenade attack while addressing a rally in the district on January 27, 2005.