Independent candidate Ashraful Hossen Alom alias Hero Alom who was assaulted within less than an hour before the end of Monday's by-election to the Dhaka-17 parliamentary seat has expressed fear for his life.
Addressing reporters from a private hospital in Ashkona of the capital on Wednesday, the YouTuber said: “You know I got injured and got treated at the hospital. But I am worried about the safety of my life. At 5:30am today (Wednesday), 8-10 boys on four motorcycles went to my house and asked me to come out. They also vandalized my gate. I do not know who they are.”
On the incident of assault outside a polling centre in Banani on Monday, Hero Alom blamed the police administration for the insecurity of life. He said: "If the police had picked me up in their car, I would have been saved from the attack."
Hero Alom also claimed that the election was rigged.
During the election, the candidate told the media that his polling agents were barred from entering the centres. But the election officials clarified that the agents had no photo ID with them.
Soon after the incident, the police detained four of the suspected attackers and four others in the next few hours. Two of them were placed on police remand on Tuesday in the case filed by Hero Alom's personal secretary.
The assault has created much hype in the political arena as well as among the Western diplomats stationed in Dhaka as videos and photos of the incident went viral on social media.
