Barrister M Shahjahan Omar, the Awami League-nominated candidate for the Jhalakathi-1 (Kanthalia-Rajapur) constituency, attended a party rally in the town on Monday morning, accompanied by BNP leaders and activists.
At the rally, Abdul Jalil Miazee, the president of Kathalia Upazila BNP, was seen holding a double-barreled gun.
"The firearm is licenced to Barrister Mohammad Shahjahan Omar. When he came to Kathalia, he had permission from the police station. The OC was also present at the rally,” Abdul Jalil said.
“I was holding the firearm as per his [Shahjahan] request. He also had a licenced pistol with him," he added.
Contacted, Kathalia police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahidul Islam denied the claim.
"Neither I nor any other police personnel were present at the public gathering. The police were on duty to maintain law and order. As per the law, he cannot carry weapons in such a public gathering," the OC said.
Abdul Salek, the Jhalakathi district election officer, said: "There has not been any directive about someone not being able to bring legal weapons to political rallies. However, the Awami League candidate has been served a letter by the Election Inquiry Committee over this incident.
“Senior Assistant Judge Pallobesh Kumar Kundu, the committee chairman, has sought explanations from Shahjahan Omar or any of his representatives by December 6 for publicly carrying weapons and campaigning before symbol allocation.”
Meanwhile, Shahjahan Omar said he did not receive any such letter seeking an explanation. "I have not received any letters about carrying weapons. If I receive one, I will look into the matter," he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Shahjahan said: "There will be no grouping within the Awami League in Kathalia. Only Sheikh Hasina's Awami League will be here. We [theAwami League and BNP men] are your guests. Please accept us. We are educated people, and we will respect you if you respect us."
At the end of the rally, Shahjahan called for unity among the Awami League and the BNP men. He mentioned that they would meet again after December 11.
At this time, leaders and activists of the Awami League and affiliated organisations felt embarrassed as they brought bouquets for Shahjahan but could not give them to him.