Chairman candidate detained with cash in Pabna, supporters lay siege to thana

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained Pabna’s Sujanagar upazila chairman candidate and upazila Awami League secretary Md Shahinuzzaman and 10 others with around Tk 2.3 million.

They were arrested from Char Bhobanipur village under the upazila at around 12:30am. RAB later arranged a press briefing at 3:15am to make the announcement.

Meanwhile, Shahinuzzaman's supporters demonstrated by laying siege to Sujanagar police station. They took position in front of the police station as of filing this report at 9:30am Tuesday.

During the press briefing, RAB-12 Pabna camp’s commander Md Ehteshamul Haque Khan said a team of the elite force was patrolling in Sujanagar upazila. The RAB team searched a car at around 12:30am. During the search, chairman candidate Md Shahinuzzaman and 10 others were detained with Tk 22,82,700.

The RAB commander said that chairman candidate Shahinuzzaman confessed during primary interrogation that he wanted to give voters the money to gain their support.  District election officer and returning officer has been informed about the incident. Next course of action against the detainees would be taken upon the directions of the returning officer.

Returning officer Mahbubur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “I’ve learnt about the incident. The election commission has been informed. Next action would be taken if the EC gives any directive.”

Meanwhile, supporters of Shahinuzzaman thronged the thana at around 1:00am after he was detained. Later senior police officers went to the spot.
“I’ve come here after being informed about the incident. Several hundred people are demonstrating by lying down on the street in front of the police station. We are trying to pacify them,” Pabna’s additional police super Masud Alam told Prothom Alo at around 5:00am on Tuesday.

However, Sujanagar thana’s officer-in-charge Md Jalal Uddin announced at around 9:30 in the morning that the number of demonstrators had increased in the morning.

Sujanagar upazila parishad would go to polls on Wednesday. Upazila Awami League president Abdul Wahab and secretary Shahinuzzaman both are contesting for the chairman post. The two leaders have been at loggerheads over establishing supremacy in the area.  

Earlier the supporters of the two leaders clashed twice on 23 April and Thursday leaving at least seven injured.