Don’t arrest BNP men in Gazipur: HC

The High Court on Monday asked the authorities concerned to stop harassing supporters and agents of the opposition BNP’s mayoral candidate in Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election, reports UNB.

The court issued a rule in this regard, less than 24 hours before the city near Dhaka goes to polls on Tuesday.

Following similar arrests and raids during the recent election in Khulna city, as the BNP complained, its party leaders and workers who would have been agents of the BNP’s mayoral candidate Hasan Uddin Sarker, were intimidated.

The High Court on Monday issued the rule about arbitrary arrest and asked the authorities concerned to explain as to why they should not be directed to follow the Appellate Division's guidelines and take measures to stop arresting the BNP men in Gazipur.

An HC bench of justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and justice Md Iqbal Kabir came up with the rule following a writ petition.

The home secretary, the election commission, the inspector general of police, the Gazipur police commissioner, the police superintendent and three others have been made respondents to the rule which is returnable in two weeks.

The court also verbally asked attorney general Mahbubey Alam to make sure that the supporters and agents of BNP mayoral candidate in the GCC polls Hasan Uddin Sarker are not arrested arbitrarily ahead of and during the voting.

BNP leader Moudud Ahmed along with Mahbub Uddin Khokon stood for the petitioner while the attorney general represented the state.

Hasan Uddin Sarker, earlier in the day, filed the writ petition with the HC seeking its directives to stop harassing his supporters and agents violating the Appellate Division directives.