Pro-government thugs went to the Uttara residence of former chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Sunday, hours after the BNP filed a case against him and 22 others on allegations of election fraud.
They hung a garland of shoes around his neck, threw eggs at him, kicked him, and punched him, while one of the attackers hit his face with a sandal. Verbal abuse continued for the whole time.
Everything happened in the presence of the interim government police, which is unpopular for promoting mob rule since the July-August riots.
Social media activists identified one of the attackers as Mohammad Muzammel Haque Dhali, an activist of the BNP.
Criticisms against mob violence and targeted attacks have been huge from local and international pressure groups. But the Yunus-led government pays no heed. As a routine step, the chief adviserโs office, the home adviser and the BNP have pledged action against the perpetrators. However, there has been no example of proper action in the past.
Earlier, Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, a former military officer, made a stern warning against mob violence on April 10, and Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman on May 22.
However, the situation has not improved slightly, with the human rights groups expressing concern as 172 people were killed in mob attacks in the last 10 months.
During the same time, over 4,00,000 people, mostly Awami League members, were arrested in more than 80,000 cases filed. As of now, over 1,40,000 Awami League leaders, activists, supporters, journalists, teachers, government officials, police officers, are languishing in jail in politically motivated cases.
On June 16, Muhammad Yunus directed the authorities concerned to immediately form a committee to investigate the role of former chief election commissioners, election commissioners and secretaries of the election commission (EC) secretariat involved in organising three controversial national elections.
Electoral System Reform Commission chief Badiul Alam Majumder said all politicians have agreed that the role of officials in organising the past three controversial elections needs to be investigated and those responsible held accountable.
What is the case?
On June 22, a five-member delegation, led by BNP Standing Committee Member Md Salahuddin Ahmed, submitted a complaint at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station on allegations of conducting farcical elections.
Earlier in the morning, the BNP delegation also submitted a separate petition to CEC AMM Nasir Uddin.
The three former CECs, who have been named in the complaint are Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, who oversaw the 2014 election; AKM Nurul Huda, who was in charge during the 2018 election; and Kazi Habibul Awal, the CEC for the 2024 election.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former inspector general of police (IGP) Hasan Mahmud Khandker and other government officials were also named.
Other names also include election commissioners and election officials during these three elections, the then IGP Javed Patwary, then Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Benazir Ahmed, former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque, former head of Special Branch (SB) Md Monirul Islam, former head of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) (unnamed), former head of National Security Intelligence (NSI) (unnamed), and former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Dhaka Range Syed Nurul Alam.
In the complaint, BNP accused law enforcement of arresting, injuring, and even killing BNP and Jatiya Oikya Front members ahead of the 2018 parliamentary election. They also urged the commission to take action against the then CEC for failing to prevent attacks on opposition leaders and activists.
Regarding the two petitions, BNP executive committee member Md Salahuddin Ahmed said the three past elections under the fascist government were unjust and a farce. When BNP and Oikya Front candidates went to submit their nomination papers, Awami League activists attacked them. Multiple complaints were submitted to the then election commissions, but no action was taken.
Raising allegations of police harassment against BNP and Oikya Front members, Salahuddin Ahmed said that law enforcement officers subjected them to inhumane torture and false cases. That is why formal requests have been filed to the incumbent CEC for action under electoral laws, as well as a complaint filed with the Sher-E-Bangla Nagar police station naming the three former CECs, the election commission, Sheikh Hasina, and heads of various security agencies.
Salahuddin Ahmed further said that CEC AMM Nasir Uddin assured them that the election commission does not take sides and will take appropriate action on the complaint in a neutral manner.
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