Independent candidate alleges threat by 4-party men
Our Correspondent, Mymensingh
An independent candidate in the upcoming general elections filed a general diary (GD) with the Kotwali Police Station here last night after being threatened with death allegedly by supporters of the four-party alliance candidate.Rafiqul Islam, the independent candidate for Mymensingh 5 (Muktagachha), was forcibly taken to Mymensingh town yesterday from his village home Moishadia by a gang of activists of AKM Mosharraf Hossain, the former state minister for energy and mineral resources and a BNP candidate in the same constituency. The gang pressurised him to withdraw his nomination paper and threatened to kill him if he did not comply, Rafiqul told The Daily Star. "As I was abducted and taken to the deputy commissioner's (DC) office, I ran and entered the DC's office and begged for the security of myself and my family members," Rafiqul burst into tears while describing his gruesome experience to this correspondent. "As eight out of ten candidates withdrew their nominations, I was the only obstacle for Mosharraf Hossain to be elected unopposed. His gang offered me a handsome amount of money. But when I refused to take any money and withdraw my nomination, they threatened to kill me and my family members," he added. Later, following a written complaint, DC Shamsul Alam placed Rafiqul under safe custody at Kotwali Police Station. "I was literally a captive there as Mosharraf's thugs were roaming around just outside the police station. At around 11:30pm, I came out of the police station with police assistance and spent the night in a guesthouse without any security," alleged Rafiqul. I requested the police administration to escort me to Muktagachha or Dhaka but they did not take necessary steps, he said alleging that the local administration still favours the former state minister. He also complained that the election rules and the state security did not ensure his rights. "As a citizen of the country, I sought proper steps, but my rights were blatantly violated." Mosharraf played this dirty game to be elected unopposed, said Rafiqul adding that the local administration would be responsible if any untoward incidents take place. "I did not withdraw my candidature and I will contest the upcoming general election with the 'Helicopter' symbol," he told The Daily Star.
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