BNP men caught in fresh legal tangle

BNP candidates for the parliamentary election are facing fresh legal difficulties at a time when they should be election campaigning in full swing.

Many of them feel uncertain as to whether they will able to contest the polls despite receiving the party ticket.

Against this backdrop, many candidates have resorted to the High Court to secure bail or stay their conviction in the flurry of old and new cases. All but one has been denied bail. Sabira Sultana, BNP candidate for Jashore-2 constituency, secured the stay from the High Court.

A single bench of the High Court on Thursday stayed the conviction and sentence of Sabira. Her lawyer said the stay order lifted the legal bar in her contesting in the polls.

Sabira was given a six-year in jail sentence in a corruption case.

Earlier on 27 November, a HC bench ordered that no one sentenced for more than two years in prison will be able to participate in the polls until the Appellate Division rejects or suspends the verdict.

The court made this observation in response to an appeal seeking a stay order on the imprisonment of five BNP leaders. BNP leaders Amanullah Aman, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Wadud Bhuiyan, Md Moshiur Rahman and Md Abdul Wahab filed the appeal. They were serving sentences ranging from 8 to 20 years.

Asked about the stay order in Sabira’s case by one bench and rejection of five other leaders’ stay by a different bench, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told Prothom Alo, “We are waiting to see Sabira’s copy of appeal. We have to go to the Appellate Division if a single bench court ordered such stay against a double bench court’s order.”

Candidate denied bail, others freed

BNP joint secretary general and party’s candidate from Narsingdi-1 constituency Khairul Kabir Khokon was sent to jail in two cases on Thursday. Khokon sought bail in a case filed by the police.
Police and BNP sources said, the case was filed with Narsingdi model police station on 8 February this year, accusing some 27 leaders and activists of BNP. Khokon’s name was not included in the initial case statement. On 25 November, police filed the charge sheet of the case accusing some 273 BNP men where Khokon was made the 87th accused.
Khokon, along with two other leaders of his party surrendered to the court and sought bail. But the court sent him to jail while granting bail to two others.
Khokon's lawyer advocate Abdul Baset Bhuiyan alleged that the order was given to keep him out of the polls.

Candidate for Dhaka-7 remanded

BNP candidate from Dhaka-7 constituency Mosharraf Hossain Khokon was arrested after submitting his nomination paper. He was arrested in a case filed in September with Lalbagh police station.
The chief metropolitan magistrates’ court ordered a two-day remand for him on Thursday.
BNP leaders alleged that Khokon was arrested in a fictitious case.
Mosharraf’s close aide Haider Ali said Mosharraf was picked up by plainclothes law enforcers on Wednesday from Shahbagh while he was on his way back after submitting his nomination form.

Denied bail, Magura-1 candidate sent to jail

BNP candidate for Magura-1 constituency Monowar Hossain was sent to jail on Thursday in a case filed in 2015. He was accused in a case of petrol bomb attack on 21 March 2015. Five workers were killed in that incident.
Monowar, also former vice president of district unit BNP, fled to Singapore after the incident, said BNP sources.
Upon his return to Bangladesh, Monowar took eight weeks’ anticipatory bail from the High Court. He surrendered to the Magura district court following the rejection of the HC bail.

Khoka’s son asked to surrender
Former Dhaka city mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka’s son and Dhaka-6 constituency’s BNP candidate Ishraq Hossain and his sister Sarika Sadeque were asked to surrender to chief metropolitan magistrate’s court within four weeks in two graft cases.
The siblings appeared before the bench seeking anticipatory bail.

Granted bail but not released
A total number of 29 leaders and activists of Rajbari district were not released from jail though they were granted bail. The leaders were shown arrested in three separate cases after they had been bailed in a case on Tuesday. The 29 leaders include district BNP vice president Rokibul Islam, thana unit’s general secretary KM Sobur Shahin, municipality unit’s general secretary Chowdhury Ahsanul Karim.

(Prothom Alo’s Narsingdi, Magura and Rajbari correspondents provided information.)