With just three days to go before the city corporation polls, many BNP-backed candidates for city council and mayor are on the run, in hiding, or behind bars.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) sources said the police are searching for at least 61 BNP-backed mayoral and councillor candidates taking part in the upcoming polls.
BNP-backed Dhaka South mayoral hopeful Mirza Abbas, who faces nearly 60 cases which he claims are politically motivated, remains in hiding. His wife Afroza Abbas has been campaigning on his behalf.
Among those publicly campaigning, even mayoral candidate Tabith M Awal says he feels insecure that he could be made to disappear at any time.
Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police flatly denied that the police were harassing candidates.
“The police are only searching for and arresting those candidates who face criminal cases and are wanted by the police,” he said.
Since the start of the campaign period, the DMP has arrested six BNP-backed candidates, including the arrest yesterday of a BNP-backed city council contender from the capital’s Hazaribagh area.
The arrestee was the councillor candidate for Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Ward 15, Abdul Khayer Bablu, 50.
He was arrested in front of the Tali Office area of Hazaribagh around 10:30am, DMP Acting Deputy Commissioner SM Jahangir Alam Sarker told the Dhaka Tribune.
Bablu is the BNP Dhanmondi police station unit president.
Acting DC Jahangir said it was the police’s duty to arrest those facing criminal cases.
He said Bablu was an accused in three cases filed with Dhanmondi police station and a warranted accused in a case filed with Hazaribagh police station.
BNP-backed councillor candidates from Mirpur, Paltan and Hazaribagh had been arrested earlier.
Ward 21 BNP-backed councillor aspirant Farid Uddin alleged that ruling party members had issued threats and obstructed his campaign from communicating with the public. “They even barred my people from putting up posters.”
Ward 20 council contender Habib Ullah said: “They [the ruling party] fear us. They are afraid we will win the elections. That is why they are trying to bar us from making mass contact.”
Many BNP-backed candidates are relying on their relatives to campaign for them, since a fear of arrest has limited their public appearances.
BNP supporters and their families are being harassed by law enforcement personnel, especially while campaigning, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists of Habibullah Bahar University College claimed.
One top leader of the college BNP wing, asking not to be named, said: “While electioneering with Afroza Abbas on behalf of Mirza Abbas, plain clothes officers surround the campaign area, speak to electioneers and note down names and political identities.”
“Three to four police vans park near our house. Sometimes the police question the neighbours about our movements,” the JCD leader said.
He said that police visit his house late at night and question his family members.
Motijheel Jubo Dal activists of Ward 10 echoed these allegations of harassment and surveillance. They said ruling party men participate in the harassment with the support of law enforcement personnel.
A top JCD activist of the area who claimed that no case was filed against him at any police station, said ruling party men were tearing down posters put up by BNP supporters under the cover of police protection.
He asked the Dhaka Tribune to go to the TNT Colony area of Motijheel to see whether BNP-backed candidates’ posters were visible.
Indeed, most of Mirza Abbas’ posters appear to have been torn down but ruling party-backed Sayeed Khokon’s posters were prominently displayed. Mirza Abbas is in hiding.
“We have taken every possible measure to ensure successful elections without any untoward incident,” Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman said.
Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad directed the police not to harass candidates without reason, but not to spare anyone violating the law.
