N'Ganj Mayhem: No action yet against gun-toters

Niazul Islam, a close aide of Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, was not the only person who brandished a gun during the attack on Narayanganj Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and her supporters on Tuesday.

Shah Nizam, another close aide of the MP, also flaunted a firearm during the incident. He is the joint secretary of the Narayanganj city AL and also the secretary of district Community Police.

In a photograph obtained by The Daily Star, Nizam was seen brandishing the gun in the city's Chashara area during the clash over eviction of hawkers from footpaths. Around 50 people, mostly supporters of the mayor, were injured in the incident.

Talking to this newspaper, Nizam admitted that he had wielded a gun, but claimed not to have attacked Ivy or her supporters.

“I flaunted the gun only to stop my followers from attacking the mayor's supporters who swooped on us carrying firearms.”

Meanwhile, police were yet to trace or take legal actions against Niazul and Nizam.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday pledged to take action against those who brandished firearms and took laws in their hands during the Tuesday's incident.

A leader of Narayanganj Jubo League, Niazul on Wednesday through his brother filed a general diary (GD) with Narayanganj Sadar Police Station, said Abdur Razzaq, acting officer-in-charge of the police station.

Asked about the whereabouts of Niazul, the OC said police were investigating the complaints mentioned in the GD.

In the GD, the Jubo League leaders said he lost his pistol in the attack by the mayor's supporters. He accused 17 people of beating him up when he was on his way to the Narayanganj Club. He also complained that the suspects snatched a pistol from him when he pulled it in self-defence.

Ivy on Wednesday alleged that Shamim wanted to kill her and accordingly, sent one of his close aides Niazul to carry out the mission.

Refuting the allegation, Shamim said Niazul was not a criminal and he wielded his pistol in self-defence.

NO CASE FILED YET

Police were yet to file any case in connection with Tuesday's incident till last night. 

Legal experts said police can file a case without waiting for anyone to do so and can carry out an investigation to identify the criminals if they were really sincere and were allowed to work without political interference.

Meanwhile, the ruling AL was yet to take any organisational action against anyone involved in the attack. Party General Secretary Obaidul Quader earlier said he had summoned Shamim and Ivy to Dhaka.

Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel, organising secretary (Dhaka divisional) of AL, told this newspaper that sitting with them would not be possible now as Ivy was sick.

Now undergoing treatment at Labaid Hospital in the capital, the condition of Ivy, who suffered a brain haemorrhage, improved yesterday, according to doctors.

LOCALS STAGE PROTEST

A group of city residents yesterday formed a human chain in front of the Narayanganj Press Club demanding arrest of Niazul, Nizam and others involved in Tuesday's attack.

Organised under the banner of Narayanganj Sangskritik Jote (Cultural Alliance of Narayanganj), speakers at the programme said Nizam was present during the inauguration of the “Unnayan Mela” by the deputy commissioner of Narayanganj on January 12.

They questioned police's inaction over arresting the attackers of Mayor Ivy and her supporters.

“It is quite clear that the authorities are acting in a biased way in favour of a vested quarter,” said Mahbubur Rahman Masum, president of Narayanganj Press Club.