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during the movement were with the team, he said.

“At the request, which was also kind of pressure, the DC helped students with the requisition of five buses,” Shafiqul said.

However, the DC office did not have any monetary involvement, as the district administration did not pay for fuel or any other travel expenses, he added.

“The interim government had no role in the matter. The government is working to create a level playing field so that all political parties can participate in a fair election,” Shafiqul added.

TIB CONCERNED

Transparency International Bangladesh, in a statement yesterday, expressed concern over the incident and said the interim government cannot evade responsibility for such abuse of power and unethical actions at the very inception of NCP.

TIB has urged NCP and all its leaders, activists, and supporters at every level to shun such old authoritarian practices under the banners of “Second Republic” and “New Political Settlement.”

Meanwhile, two notices regarding eight bus requisitions in Pirojpur went viral on social media.

The district’s Nezarat Deputy Collector (NDC), on behalf of the Pirojpur deputy commissioner, issued two separate notices for bus requisitions on Thursday.

In one notice, the NDC directed five bus owners to arrange as many buses. In another notice, the NDC directed three owners to arrange three buses.

The district administration came up with the initiative under the jurisdiction of The Requisition of Movable Property Act, 1988, in public interest, according to the notices.

In the notices, the administration also asked local traffic police authorities to oversee the bus requisition process.

Contacted, NDC Reaz Mahmud confirmed the matter and said he arranged the buses only for students, not for any political party.

“Students came to the DC and requested financial support to travel between Pirojpur and Dhaka. But the DC said he couldn’t do that. Then, the students demanded the arrangement of the buses. Finally, he agreed and arranged the buses for the students,” Reaz Mahmud told The Daily Star yesterday.

Asked, Pirojpur Traffic Police Inspector Mohammad Moniruzzaman also confirmed the matter and said the traffic police acted as per the directive of the district administration.

Contacted, Shahnewaz Ovi, one of the key organisers of the Students Against Discrimination in Pirojpur, also admitted that the district administration arranged the buses for them.

“But we bore all the fuel expenses,” he added.

The Daily Star yesterday talked to at least four transport operators in Pirojpur, who confirmed that eight buses were requisitioned by the district administration for students.

On Friday, the NCP was officially launched at a ceremony on Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka.

[Our correspondent from Pirojpur contributed to the report.]