A number of flaws were found in the updated voter list as correction went on for the fourth day yesterday amidst continuing allegation of further irregularities.

One assistant registration officer was withdrawn yesterday for political affiliation when activists of both Awami League and BNP alleged inclusion of fake voters in the voters' list at Agargaon.

Meanwhile, people in other parts of the capital said voter list updating in their area was yet to begin.

Rafiqul Islam, acting assistant registration officer (ARO) for ward 23, also a clerk at the Khilgaon

Girls' High School & College, was withdrawn from his duty yesterday for his political affiliation and for attempting to exert influence during the correction and updating of voter list.

Election Commission (EC) secretary Abdur Rashid Sarker on Sunday ordered to take action against Rafiqul Islam after investigation. Thana Election Officer of Sabujbagh, Jalaluddin, was appointed the new ARO for ward 23.

After making visits in ward 40 near the election commission office, it was found that number of voters jumped up to a great extent on the updated voter list where over

three thousand new names were located.

A number of teachers in the area from Gonobhaban Govt High School, who have been updating the voter list for the EC, said the additional names on the list might have been included as there were a huge number of floating peoplein the area.

Another official of the school preferring anonymity said gross anomalies have been done during the updating as party men from both Awami League (AL) and BNP filled up the voter forms and forced the school authorities to register those names as voters.

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He also said there had been widespread irregularities at Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University under supervision of Golam Kibria, an office secretary there.

The AL leaders and activists yesterday met Shahina Akhtar, assistant registration officer and headmistress of Gonobhaban Govt High School, and informed her of the irregularities done by field level election officials.

Leaders and activists of both AL and BNP pointed fingers at each other for including fake names on the voter list. BNP activists claimed that the AL men interfered the voter list correction process at the 'Tin-shed Colony'.

At the Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University campus, a first year student of Northern College, Muhammad Suman, said the field level election officials insisted him on enlisting his name as a voter although he was not old enough to be a voter.

A resident of Agargaon, Hasina Islam, said the officials came and enlisted her husband and younger brother on the correction list, but the field level enumerator asked them to go to Gonobhaban Govt High School to register the other six members of her family who had been dropped out from the voter roll.

At Rishi Para, the dropped out voters from the minority were able to enlist their names with the field level election officials.

BNP men at Maniknagar (South) drove out a field level election official and a teacher at Maniknagar Model School, Nazneen Akhtar, from the area who went there to update the voter list.

The Daily Star correspondent was unable to reach the BNP leader of the area, ward 30 commissioner ADM Mostafa Kamal, on cell phone for his comment on the incident.

The Daily Star correspondent found at least three households at Chamelibagh in Shantinagar where the voters were provided acknowledgement receipts after they had filled out enrolment forms to be voters, but their names did not appear on the updated enumeration of voters in February.

Only one voter, who happened to be a sister of a local BNP leader, made it to the updated voter list in a residential block in Shantinagar that includes 36 apartments. Locals alleged that the list was 'edited' at

the office of Khandakar Abdur Rab, commissioner of ward 36 who is also a member of Jamaat-e-Islami.

When asked about the discrepancies, assistant registration officer of the area, Principal Liaquat Ali of Rajarbagh Police Lines High School said "I take no responsibility for these actions, these were done by ground-level staff."

A ground-level officer in charge of the Chamelibagh area, Parimal Chandra Roy, however, justified the errors by saying, "Mistakes will always be found whenever any work is undertaken."

KHULNA

Khulna AL leaders and activists claimed BNP and Jamaat men are hampering the voter list correction process.

District Jamaat Secretary Waliullah at ward no. 22, a Jamaat activist Asma Jamila Shima at ward no. 26, BNP workers Sonia Akhtar and Shamsunnahar at ward nos. 25 and 16 are working as enumerators allegedly intervening the correction process, reported our Khulna correspondent.

NETRAKONA

Minorities of Khuchirgong, Barantar and Samaj areas under Mohongonj upazila were shown 'dead' in the updated voter list. Besides, the correction work is yet to start in the rural areas of Barhatta upazila.

CHITTAGONG

The correction of voter list with the voter list of 2000 continued for the fourth consecutive day yesterday with most of the assistant officers yet to get the updated list.

Our Chittagong correspondent reported that the activists of 14-party combine manhandled two assistant officers at Postarpar area of North Pathantuli to carry the voter list of 2000.

They also took away the older voter list and demanded the updated one to exclude excess voters allegedly included during the immediate past government's tenure.

Zahir Uddin Chowdhury, an assistant registration officer of ward no. 23, however, claimed that assaulted assistant officers were carrying the updated list.

Sources said the enumerators were only seen excluding the names of migrated, dead or excess voters during the correction process, as the updated list is yet to reach the port city.