Case Filed by Chhatra Shakti Leader
4 Dead AL Leaders, 6 BNP Leaders Named as Accused
Majida Borhan, Ziaul Haque Masum, and Selina Akter (from left), among those named as accused in the case. Collected photos
A leader of NCP student wing has filed a case accusing 248 people, including leaders of the now-banned Awami League, of disrupting public order by detonating cocktails and crude bombs, blocking highways with firearms, and creating unrest. The complaint alleges that the accused undermined peace in the country. The list of accused includes not only four deceased Awami League leaders but also six BNP leaders.
The plaintiff, Marzuk Abdullah, serves as joint general secretary of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Barishal metropolitan unit and previously worked as a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Barishal. Several leaders of the movement said Marzuk himself is wanted in a robbery case and faces an outstanding arrest warrant.
The case has angered local BNP leaders and activists. They alleged that Marzuk Abdullah, along with a police officer and several others, is part of a ‘case-trading syndicate’ that filed the complaint to extort a large sum of money.
Marzuk filed the case on Thursday with the court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Barishal. Judge SM Shariyat Ullah accepted the complaint and directed the deputy commissioner of Barishal Metropolitan Police to investigate. Rajib Majumdar, a bench assistant of the court, said the complaint includes charges under various laws, including the Arms Act, Explosives Act, and Anti-Terrorism Act.
The complaint also names six BNP leaders as accused. They include former Barishal Metropolitan BNP member and former reserved-seat councilor Majida Borhan (accused No. 171); Ward No. 4 councilor Md. Yunus (No. 149); former Ward No. 18 councilor and former BNP general secretary of the ward, Ziaul Haque Masum (No. 158); former Ward No. 26 councilor Humayun Kabir (No. 163); former reserved-seat councilor Rashida Parveen (No. 165); and former reserved-seat councilor Selina Akter (No. 174).
Former Barishal district Chhatra Dal Joint Convener Saiful Islam Sujan expressed frustration over the case. He told Agamir Somoy, “My mother, Majida Borhan, has been named as an accused. She currently serves as an adviser to BNP's Ward No. 17 unit and is a former councilor of Barishal City Corporation. I repeatedly tried to contact the plaintiff to find out why she was included in the case, but I could not reach him.”
Former Barishal Metropolitan BNP Member Secretary Mir Jahidul Kabir said he was surprised to know that several BNP leaders had been named in a case filed against Awami League leaders and activists. “Among them are former Ward No. 4 councilor Yunus Mia and former Ward No. 18 councilor and BNP leader Ziaul Haque Masum,” he said.
