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Police see dead man running
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Sheikh Mohammad Shamim, former Chhatra Dal leader of Gazipur City Corporation’s Ward-54, is one such victim, who has nothing to do with the alleged crime but has been implicated nevertheless.
On October 26, police arrested him and 56 others from Tongi. Family members and sources in the court said Shamim was subsequently sent to jail.
But in a case filed on October 31 by Tongi police, Shamim has been charged with setting fire to a motorcycle and vandalising several vehicles in Tongi on October 30.
Contacted, SI Taim Uddin of Tongi West Police Station who filed the case said he would like to have a face-to-face conversation about the matter.
Al Amin Sarkar, a Jamaat supporter, from Brahmanbaria’s Kasba is another.
On November 2, four days after BNP’s Nayapaltan rally, Emdadul Haque Palash, former general secretary of local Chhatra League, sued 57 BNP-Jamaat leaders and supporters for “vandalising four bikes, beating him up and snatching Tk 2 lakh from him”.
The alleged incident happened in Kasba municipality area at 7:40am.
Al Amin’s immigration papers show he landed at Dhaka airport at 6:00am that day after performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia, where he flew on October 19.
Brahmanbaria is about 100km from Dhaka airport and is about four hours’ journey.
Al Amin’s wife Umme Habiba Fatema said her husband, a Jamaat supporter, came out of the airport around 8:30am after completing immigration formalities. The couple stayed at a cousin’s house in Dhaka that night and the next day, and returned to Brahmanbaria on November 4.
Police arrested him from Kasba on November 5, she said.
In the same case, Emdadul named Deen Islam Bhuiyan as an accused although he was in prison at the time.
Deen Islam, 70, has been in jail since police arrested him on September 15 from Brahmanbaria, said his son Tanvir Bhuiyan.
Kasba Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Mohiuddin said a private citizen filed the case and that they would take appropriate measures after investigation.
Police in Magura filed two cases on November 1 and 3 against two men over political violence, when they were in Malaysia and Bahrain.
One of them is Alamin Kazi of Magura’s Shalikha, an expatriate businessman in Malaysia. The other is Rajib Sikder, an expat in Bahrain.
Travel documents, family members and both the expats confirm that they were not in Bangladesh on those dates.
“Like in 2013 and 2018, the government is trying to create panic among the people ahead of the election so they cannot take to the streets. Police are arresting our leaders and activists indiscriminately. They are employing such tactics so people do not rise up against the autocratic rule,” Rizvi said.
Rights activist Nur Khan said police continue to file such cases as they are not held accountable for victimising innocent people.
“It is clear from the cases filed across the country that the accused are supporters of opposition parties. It shows that police are being used by the government for political gains,” he said.
It also demonstrates police inefficiency, he said, adding, “Police have the list of opposition leaders and workers. So they use their names whenever they file a case without any verification.”
Anwar Hossain, deputy inspector general (operations) at the Police Headquarters, said there are strict instructions for the local police to verify case-related information before pressing charges against anyone.
“If police filed cases against dead men or people already in jail, it is wrong and unjust on the part of the officers concerned. We will ask the units concerned to investigate and if anyone is found guilty of filing such cases, actions will be taken against them as per the rules,” he told The Daily Star.
According to Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, courts need to intervene in these matters as such cases may erode public trust in the judiciary.
“It is a matter of concern. I think such cases are a clear threat to the judicial system,” he said.

350 failed to prove
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the names of proposers and seconders who were not from the constituency concerned, 21 hid lawsuit-related information, eight hid information in affidavits, six did not submit educational certificates.
Candidature of Gono Front’s Manikganj-1 candidate Shahjahan Khan, Narayanganj-2 independent Hazi Shariful Islam, Madaripur-2 independent Yousuf Ali Sumon, BNM’s Manikganj-1 aspirant Monayem Khan, and Bangladesh Congress’ Chattogram-8 nominee Mohibur Rahman Bulbul defaulted on paying credit card bills.
The EC, in a statement yesterday, said aspirants whose nominations were cancelled can file appeals with the commission by December 9.
The aspirants or their representatives will have to file the appeals at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon. The EC will dispose of the appeals from December 10 to 15.