& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

All's not well on quiet fronts

Star Report, Ctg
Everything looked calm and quiet in front of Haji Mohsin College polling centre. It was in the morning, early hours of voting.
MS6 dM *f$male v6ter£ Vere waiting in separate but long queues, most of them for over one and half an hours, al the centre with a total number of3,945 votes. Voter turnout was good at this centre and Chittagong Government High School and Kajcm All High School centres nearby. Enthusiastic voters queued up at die polling stations as votingbegan al 8;00am. But the peace around was a deceptive one.
A large number of youths were seen roaming near the polling centres. Genuine voters were surprised to see them, mosdy unknown laces.
These youths' names were not on the voter’s list. Some local leaders of Jamaat-e-Islaml's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir gave them voter slips of genuine voters and escorted them to polling booths for casting voles as genuine voters waited in the queues.
Hundreds of such youths-- all Shibir cadres — were brought from Satkania, Lohagara, Chandanais and Chittagong University areas and also from Cox’s Bazar.
About a dozen local leaders of Shibir were seen busy inside the three centres when this corresponded visited them between 8:00am and 1:30pm.
Ai Mohsin College centre at about 9:15am, some Shibir men escorted their cadres to cast hike votes for BNP-led ruling alliance candidates for mayoral and ward commissioner posts. They ’ were brought from the city suburbs and , accommodated at dormitories of * QuttiigongCnllege and Mohsin Colleger
• ’Your voter numbers are here, go and cast votes," one youth told other youths inside Mohsin College centre.
Polling agents of opposition-backed canaldales watched such fake voting but they hardly lodged any complaint fearing reprisal by Shibir men who are a force to be reckoned in the area.
"Shibir cadres arc casting fake voles since the beginning," said a polling agent of Awami League-backed mayoral candidate ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury. "I can't protest...! can’t even leave the centre. I have to face serious consequence if I do so as I live in this area."
Fake voters even cast more than one vote each, he alleged.
Asked about slow progress of voting, Mahbubur Rahman, presiding officer of the centre, saia every voter has to use three ballot papers to elect mayor, ward commissioner and women commissioners against reserved seats. This naturally takes more time than in other polls.
On false voting, he said, "How can I say false votes are being cast when no polling agent lodged any complaint."
Ine situation at Kafern Ali High School centre with 3,021 voters appeared worse. A local BNP leader and rebel ward commissioner candidate from Chawkbazar said Shibir men arc controlling the centre.
Sabukta Gin Siddiqui Mokki narrated the irregularities to this correspondent in front of the centre’s Presiding Officer Mohammad Awrangojeb, who outright denied the allegations.
"Very orderly, very peaceful voting. Let’s hope it continues," the presiding officer said.
Presiding officers of Mohsin College and Chittagong Government High School centres also expressed similar views.
Jamaat lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury was seen visiting die three polling centre areas in a private car, and talking to Shibir men at a polling camp in front of Kajem Ali High School centreat about 1:00pm.
'You need not waste your time... Your vote has been cast," said a polling agent of alliance mayoral candidate Mir Nasir when Moinuddin Ahmed (voter no 601), a lawyer, came to vote.
It is not worth getting killed for voting," one voter said. Many others echoed him.
The situation at Mohsin College centre was however different for half an hour when British Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka Steve Bergs visited it. He told The Daily Star,h I am here just to see the voting system in Bangladesh. It seems to me that castingof votes is very slow."
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdullah Al Noman visited the centre areas. Asked about fake voting, he said he was not aware of any such happening. Everything was minion wpIL