We’re searching for others involved in farcical election: Prosecution

The prosecution on Friday said former chief election commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda provided information regarding various allegations, including the ‘ballot stuffing at night’ in the 2018 election. He revealed the information during a four-day remand interrogation.

The prosecution argued that they are searching for others involved in that farcical election and that Nurul Huda should be questioned again for more information.

Following the end of a four-day remand, Nurul Huda was produced before Dhaka’s chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) court on Friday afternoon in a case filed by a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader over conducting a controversial election.

Sub-inspector of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station and the case investigating officer, Shamsuzzoha Sarkar, submitted a fresh plea seeking a 10-day remand for further interrogation.

Chief public prosecutor (PP) of the Dhaka metropolitan sessions court, Omar Faruq Faruqi, placed arguments, highlighting violence and irregularities during the 2018 election, as well as mentioning the need to identify the others involved.

Nurul Huda was brought to the CMM court in a black-glassed microbus around 2:30 pm. Police were seen escorting him out after being held in the court custody for about an hour.

He was wearing a police helmet, with both hands cuffed behind his back. Nurul Huda walked with his head bowed from the detention gate to the courtroom elevator. He was then taken to the ninth floor of the courtroom around 3:40 pm.

Once placed in the courtroom dock, Nurul Huda stood with his head down. A police constable removed the handcuffs from behind his back and then took off his helmet. Nurul Huda remained standing while holding onto the iron railing of the dock.

After that, his lawyer Obaidul Islam approached and began speaking with him. Ten minutes later, magistrate Awlad Hossain Muhammad Junaid entered the courtroom at 3:50 pm.

At that point, sub-inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar, standing in the witness dock, began presenting five arguments for taking Nurul Huda into remand.

Investigating officer Shamsuzzoha told the court, “I interrogated Nurul Huda during the four-day remand, following the court’s order. He has provided a large volume of information related to the allegations, including the ballot stuffing at night during the 2018 election. A further 10-day remand is necessary to verify and cross-check the information given by Nurul Huda.”

Shamsuzzoha further said, “The pieces of information Nurul Huda provided are about documents. Those documents need to be recovered for the sake of investigation of the case. He has to be interrogated on remand again to recover the documents.”

The police official further said, “A staged election was held in 2018 when Nurul Huda was the chief election commissioner. This was an orchestrated crime committed at an office. He should be taken on remand to uncover how the staged parliamentary election was organised, maintaining communication with other offices at the order of Nurul Huda.”

Police official Shamsuzzoha also told the court, “It is essential to uncover the information related to the implementation of the budget of the 2018 parliamentary election. That is why he has to be quizzed.”

Following the investigation officer’s presentation, PP Omar Faruq Faruqui presented the arguments before the court for granting a fresh 10-day remand of Nurul Huda.

“We quizzed Nurul Huda on four-day remand. He spelt out many important information in the interrogation but, as per the law, we are not disclosing those for the sake of the investigation. All of those details will come to light as soon as the investigation officer submits the report,” he said.

PP Omar Faruq Faruqui further said, “Honourable court, you know parliamentary election is a huge task. Like the election commissioners, election commission secretary, 64 deputy commissioners, police supers and 1.6-1.7 million (16-17 lacs) officials and employees remain involved in the electoral process. A number of returning officers and presiding officers were also involved with the process of voting at night (vote rigging) in 2018.”

“Nurul Huda held the voting at night to bring fascist Sheikh Hasina to power again. Following his order, many presiding officers organised the voting at night. Fascist Sheikh Hasina’s former cabinet members, MPs and many leaders and activists of her party were also involved with this ballot stuffing. We are looking for all the people involved with this mockery of the election. Nurul Huda should be interrogated more on remand for information related to the people who were involved with such a huge vote rigging,” he insisted.

According to the PP, “Several lacs of members of the armed forces, police, RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) remain under the supervision of the election commission after the announcement of the election schedule. The post of the chief election commissioner is a constitutional one. The chief election commissioner and other election commissioners enjoy the highest authority during the polls. Police arrested thousands of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders and activists by filing ‘gayebi mamla’ (fictitious cases) against them before the 2018 election, houses of some of the candidates were vandalised and set on fire. Jatiya Oikya Front, a BNP-led coalition, was contesting the election at that time. BNP submitted written complaints to the election commission but, being the chief election commissioner, Nurul Huda did not take any action at that time.”

PP Omar Faruq Faruqui further said to the court, “Fascist Sheikh Hasina had nominated Minhaj Ahmed Javed, the younger brother of former army chief Moeen U Ahmed, for the Noakhali-3 (Begumganj) constituency as the Awami League candidate. In opposition to him, an unfamiliar female Awami League leader was fielded.”

Upon hearing this, the court asked PP Omar Faruq Faruqui, “Was any relative of the former chief election commissioner Nurul Huda an MP?”

In response, the PP said, “While holding a constitutional post, Nurul Huda abused his power to get his nephew SM Shahzada elected as an MP from the Patuakhali-3 (Dashmina-Galachipa) constituency.”

Then the court further asked the PP, who had served as the secretary of the election commission during Nurul Huda’s term as the chief election commissioner.

In response, Omar Faruq Faruqui said, “During the 2018 election, an election where voting took place at night instead of during the day, the secretary of Nurul Huda’s election commission was Helaluddin Ahmed.”

Nurul Huda’s legal team strongly opposed the appeal for putting him on remand again for 10 days. In response to the Public Prosecutor’s (PP) arguments, Nurul Huda’s lawyer Tawhidul Islam told the court, “Your Honour, the state has submitted the same grounds today for putting Nurul Huda on remand as they did four days ago. However, the application makes no mention of any developments made during those four days of remand.”

Advocate Tawhidul continued, “When the state first appealed to put Nurul Huda on remand four days ago, there was no charge of sedition. At that time, we had argued that all the sections under which the case has been filed against Nurul Huda are bailable. Since the charges were bailable, the sedition allegation has been brought up solely to justify his continued detention.”

He further argued, “According to the law, a sedition case cannot be filed by an individual. Only the government can file a sedition case. Plus, prior approval from the government is required before proceeding with a sedition case as per Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In this instance we notice that the sedition charge has been added without any prior approval from the government.”

The advocate further stated, “Nurul Huda has committed no act of sedition. Section 124A of the Penal Code defines sedition as when a person, through written or spoken words, incites hatred or contempt against the government. My client Nurul Huda has not shown hatred or contempt against any government.”

He added, “A sedition case cannot proceed without prior approval from the government. From a legal standpoint, the case is flawed.”

Advocate Tawhidul continued, “The state has cited as the reason for putting Nurul Huda on remand is to recover budget-related documents. But can a sub-inspector assess such financial information or determine revenue and expenditure? There are separate institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General and the National Board of Revenue to question about records on budget-related revenue and expenditure.”

Following the argument made by Nurul Huda’s advocate, PP Omar Faruq Faruqi stood up and stated, “Your Honour, there is no obligation to get prior approval from government at the time of filing a sedition case. The police would get the approval in a sedition case before submitting the investigation report after the investigation has been completed.”

“Also, a Magistrate’s Court cannot take sedition charges to cognisance. The charge sheet in a sedition case must be submitted to a District or Metropolitan Session Judge Court, where a district judge will take cognizance of the charges,” he added.

At this point, another legal counsel of Nurul Huda, Obaidul Islam stated, “Your Honour, he is an elderly man of over 80 years old and he is unwell. He is also a freedom fighter. If questioning is necessary, let him to be interrogated at the jail gate.”

During the hour-long hearing, Nurul Huda stood in the dock with his head bowed. After both sides concluded their arguments, the court approved another four-day remand of Nurul Huda for further interrogation. As the proceedings concluded, Huda was again handcuffed with his hands behind his back and a helmet was placed on his head before police officers escorted him to the court custody.