Ctg house vandalised for casting vote for 'boat'
Miscreants have vandalised a house at Banshkhali of Chattogram as its dwellers voted for the boat, the electoral symbol of ruling Awami League, in the local union parishad election.
The AL candidate won the election, defeating the party's rebel and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidates.
The incident took place at Jangal Gunagari area of Kalipur union in the upazila on Friday morning. The victim -- Narayan Nath, a motorcycle mechanic in profession – claimed the miscreants might be followers of the defeated candidates.
However, police said the vandalism is a result of feud over the ownership of land.
The victim's family members held a human chain at the upazila town on Friday, demanding security and justice for them.
Narayan Nath, his brother Subal Nath, and their neighbours voted for the boat symbol in the union parishad election held on Wednesday. The ruling party candidate – Md Shahadat Alam – defeated AL’s rebel candidate Md Noman by 417 votes.
BNP candidate Aminur Rahman Chowdhury secured the third place.
Narayan claimed that followers of the defeated candidates vandalized his house.
Around 15 young men, equipped with local weapons, appeared before the house at 10:00am and asked the dwellers to stay inside. Even they threatened to kill if anyone goes against their instruction and attempts to leave the house. They hurled abuses and asked why the dwellers voted for the boat. They also threatened to burn the entire house later.
Narayan identified some of the attackers as followers of the two defeated candidates. The attackers include Masud, Abu Saleh, and Taleb.
A video clip of the vandalism is now making rounds on Facebook. Narayan Nath filmed the incident on his phone from his neighboring house. One of the vandals was seen to approach him and then the video clip ended.
Five youth were seen in the video to destroy the house with local weapons.
Md Kamal Uddin, officer-in-charge of Banshkhali police station, said there has been a longstanding feud between Narayan Nath and a local over a path. It seems that the rivals vandalised the house as it comes in the line of the path.
It is nothing related to the election. The vandals will be identified with the help of the video clip and be arrested soon, he added.
However, Narayan Nath, in a conversation with Prothom Alo, spurned the OC’s statement, saying that the feud over land was settled earlier. “Our house has been vandalised due to voting for the boat symbol.”
He also alleged that they sought police help through the national helpline 999, but they came to the spot after the incident.
The rebel candidate of Awami League could not be reached over phone.