In the Bhanga Upazila Parishad election of Faridpur, a presiding officer was attacked for preventing fake votes. The assailants allegedly looted government-allocated funds from the centre.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at 3:30pm at the Rashidpur Dakhil Madrasa Centre at Gharua union of the upazila.
Presiding officer Hasib Uddin Mridha reported that in the final moments of voting, local UP Chairman Monsur Ali and his associates entered the polling centre, demanding votes for Kawsar Bhuiyan’s “Inkpot and Pen” symbol. When Mridha refused, he was assaulted and humiliated.
The attackers then looted Tk 73,000 from his office, funds reserved for conducting the election. Mridha mentioned that he could not file a complaint on time due to the on-going election results process but plans to submit a written complaint to the police soon. He has already informed law enforcement via phone.
Ziaul Haque Khan, the returning officer for the third phase of the Upazila Parishad elections, confirmed awareness of the incident but could not provide details due to the on-going vote count. In this election, Bhanga Upazila had five chairman candidates, four female vice-chairman candidates, and six male vice-chairman candidates, with a total of 99 polling centres.
Repeated calls to UP Chairman Monsur Ali went unanswered.
Regarding the issue, Bhanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Golam Muntasir Maruf acknowledged awareness of the incident but noted that a formal written complaint had not yet been received. He assured that an investigation is underway.
Sources from the Faridpur Election Office revealed that in the elections for two Upazila Parishads in Faridpur, Shahidul Islam Babul was unofficially elected chairman of Sadar Upazila with 40,333 votes, while his nearest competitor, Kazi Shafiqul Rahman, received 35,508 votes. Babul is the former president of the Upazila.
Additionally, in Bhanga Upazila, Kawsar Bhuiyan, running with the motorcycle symbol, was unofficially elected chairman with 62,872 votes.
