Police on Thursday arrested three newly elected Upazila Parishad chairmen and two vice-chairmen from Rangpur city for alleged involvement in violence during the January 5 parliament polls. They were also accused of ‘causing obstruction’ to police in discharge of duty.
Detective branch (DB) sleuths arrested the five from in front of the Divisional Commissioner’s Office around 3pm just when they were to take oath in a conference room there.All of them were elected in the first phase of the ongoing Upazila Parishad elections.
Those arrested are Chairman of Mithapukur Upazila Parishad in Rangpur district and Upazila Ameer (chief) of the Jamaat-e-Islami Golam Rabbani, Mithapukur Upazila Vice-Chairman and Upazila Jamaat member Abdul Baset Marzan, Chairman Boda Upazila in Panchagarh district and Jamaat activist Shafiul Alam Shafi, Chairman of Atoari Upazila (in Panchagarh district) and President of Atoari Upazila BNP Abdur Rahman and its Vice-Chairman and Upazila Chhatra Dal President Mohammad Shajahan.
Rangpur district Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdur Razzak said that there were arrest warrants against the five in several cases filed for their alleged involvement in attacks on the police, setting fire to vehicles and polling centres and snatching away ballot boxes and ballot papers before and after the 10th national election.
The accused were produced in the court which ordered them to be locked up in Rangpur Central Jail.
Meanwhile, the newly elected Upazila chairmen, vice-chairmen (male and female) of 33 Upazilas of eight districts under Rangpur division took oath at a ceremony in the conference room of the Divisional Commissioner’s office at 4pm on Thursday.
Additional Divisional Commissioners Narayan Chandra Barman (Revenue) said that Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Dilwar Bakht conducted the oath-taking ceremony arranged for 99 Upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen by Divisional Commissioner’s Office with cooperation from Rangpur Regional Election Commissioner’s Office.-bdnews24.com
