At least three journalists, including a photojournalist of this paper, were assaulted during parliamentary polls in Dhaka and Chattogram yesterday, while a number of journalists covering polls for this paper faced obstructions from activists of political parties and law enforcers in the capital.

Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo of The Daily Star and Al Amin, a staff reporter of Chattogram-based online news portal Cvoice24.com, came under  attack by alleged ruling party men while covering election proceedings.

Meanwhile, senior reporter of Bangla daily Manab Zamin Kafi Kamal was assaulted while returning from a polling centre after casting vote in Moghbazar.

Apurbo was assaulted by five to six men in front of Shahjadpur Model Government Primary School in Gulshan around 12:05pm.

The attackers, wearing badges of Awami League electoral symbol “boat”, came out of a crowd and started questioning him while he was taking photographs well outside the polling centre.

At one point, they swooped on him and beat him up indiscriminately. The attackers broke his spectacles and took away his cell phone.

However, with help from on-duty police personnel, he got his cell phone back, on condition of deleting some photos of polls atmosphere from it.

Al Amin alleged he was injured in his forehead by some 15 miscreants while trying to enter Bepza High School polling centre in the port city around 10:30am, reports our Chattogram correspondent.

The attackers, who were near the polling centre during voting hours, swooped on him after knowing his professional identity, he further alleged.

He was rescued by some locals, and later took treatment at a local clinic.

The polling booths, inset, inside are devoid of voters. Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Contacted, Officer-in-Charge Mir Nurul Huda of EPZ Police Station said he was unaware about the incident.

Police would take action if a complaint is filed, he added.

Kafi Kamal said he, along with his wife, was returning from Eskaton Garden School on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw around 9am.

Seeing some people beating up a few youths in front of Moghbazar BTCL School centre, he came down from the auto-rickshaw and tried to take photos and videos of the incident from a safe distance, Kafi said.

Suddenly, some youths wearing badges of “boat” symbol surrounded him, snatched away his cell phone and started kicking and punching him.

Kafi said he was rescued by two other journalists passing by, and received treatment at a nearby hospital. He had to get four stitches above his left eye.

STAR JOURNOS OBSTRUCTED

Besides, a number of journalists of this paper, who were carrying identity cards issued by the Election Commission, were also obstructed in different ways, including denial of entry to polling centres, by on-duty law enforcement agency members and alleged ruling party men across Dhaka city.

As per EC guideline, journalists carrying EC-issued identity cards were allowed to enter polling centres without any obstruction.

AKM Zamir Uddin was not allowed to enter AKM Rahmatullah Degree College in Uttar Badda area around 9am. Upon learning that he is a journalist, a man wearing badge of “boat” symbol told him not to enter the polling centre, and “offered a cup of tea”.

Rafiul Islam was repeatedly obstructed by on-duty police and Ansar men from entering nine out of the 10 polling centres under Dhaka-4 constituency, keeping him waiting outside the main gate in most cases while the law enforcers got “permission” from inside the centres.

In Shyampur under Dhaka-4, a senior reporter of this paper who wished not to be named, was kept waiting for over half an hour by police personnel, for “taking permission from authorities” to let him in at Faridabad High School polling centre.

Sohel Parvez was denied entry at four centres in Dhaka-6 constituency. He was pushed and shoved at Dhaka Central Girl's High School centre by some men wearing badges of Jatiya Party electoral symbol “plough”, and was forced to leave the place.

Reporter Muhammad Zahidul Islam and photojournalist Amran Hossain were stopped at the gate of the Shaheed Zia Basabo High Scool under Dhaka-9 by law enforcers, saying photojournalists were not allowed inside. Later, they went in after the presiding officer came to the gate.

Zahidul Islam was also prevented by activists wearing badges of “boat” from entering a polling centre in Modhubagh, under Dhaka-12 constituency.

Photojournalist Palash Khan was prevented by activists of Awami League from entering Manipur High School polling centre in Mirpur under Dhaka-15.

Our reporters at Kalachandpur Government High School and College in the capital, as well as at polling centres in Bandarban and Barishal, also faced obstructions in covering the election.

The Election Commission will announce next week the election schedule for the 50 reserved seats for women in the 11th parliament, EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said today.

“According to the 11th parliamentary election results, 43 seats will be reserved for Awami League while four for the Jatiya Party, one for Jatiya Oikyafront and two for the independent and other candidates,” Helal Uddin Ahmed told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon.

Besides, the upazila parishad elections will be held in phases from the first week of March, he added.

The AL-led grand alliance secured 288 seats -- the AL 257, the JP 22 and others 9 -- in the December 30 election. The BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront got only eight seats.

♦ Fakhrul, Moudud, Moyeen Khan, Mirza Abbas, Nazrul Islam Khan, Goyeshwar among accused 

♦ Amir Khasru, now travelling abroad, also accused of 'instigating subversive acts' through rally speech 

♦ Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, who did not even attend the rally,  also named as accused 

Top BNP leaders, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were sued early yesterday for “instigating” subversive activities, hours after the party staged a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan and asked its activists to prepare for both movement and elections.

The case statement says some party supporters blasted crude bombs, attacked police in an attempt to kill them, vandalised vehicles and obstructed police duties in Moghbazar area around 8:15pm on Sunday. 

And the crimes were committed at the instigation of top BNP-Jamaat leaders, which police learnt interrogating those arrested during the occurrence, it added.   

Apart from BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul, the accused include standing committee members Mirza Abbas, Moudud Ahmed, Nazrul Islam Khan, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Moyeen Khan.

Filed with Hatirjheel Police Station, the case also names BNP leaders Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Amanullah Aman and Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu and 45 other party men as the accused.

The case statement reads that the leaders delivered “provocative and anti-government speeches” at the rally on Sunday, and party supporters committed the offences while returning from the programme.  

Interestingly, Amir Khashru has been staying in the US since September 23 while Rizvi was not even present at the rally.

A reporter of The Daily Star yesterday evening visited Moghbazar Railgate, which is the place of alleged occurrence, and nearby areas and talked to around 100 shopkeepers, residents and pedestrians. 

They all said they were unaware of any incident of vandalism and explosion of crude bombs on Sunday in their locality.

However, several street vendors said they saw some people were being picked up by a group of plainclothes men near Moghbazar flyover between 4:00pm and 5:30pm that day.

“It is not possible that any incident of vandalism and explosion of crude bomb will go unnoticed,” said an employee of a shop located near the spot.

Other arrestees brought to the court premises in a prison van. Photo: Prabir Das

This apart, at least nine other cases were filed with the city's Ramna, Shahbagh, Motijheel, Paltan, Jatrabari, Kadamtoli, Lalbagh and Dhanmondi police stations between Sunday afternoon and early yesterday against hundreds of named and unnamed BNP men.

They have been sued for subversive activities, vandalism and creating obstacles to duties of the law enforcers.

“The cases are all false and fabricated and meant to harass us,” Fakhrul, who now stands accused in a total of 87 cases, told The Daily Star last night.

The case statement, however, said five arrested accused told police that speeches delivered by Fakhrul and other senior BNP-Jamaat leaders provoked them into committing the crimes.

The five are Mobashwer Alam Bhuyian, vice president of Cumilla BNP and an MP aspirant; Md Sharfuddin, a ward councillor in Gazipur; Rashed Bin Sulaiman, president of ward-18 BNP in Dhaka; Salauddin, general secretary of Bhaluka thana BNP, and Shamsul Haque, war-41 Jubo Dal president of Dhaka.

They were held on the spot, police claimed.          

Police also “recovered” five sticks, 1.5-litre petrol, pieces of exploded cocktails from the place of occurrence, said the statement.

An assistant sub-inspector and two constables were hurt being hit with brick chips. And unidentified 20-25 people fled after carrying out the subversive activities, it added. 

As the charges are cognisable offences, law enforcers can arrest anyone anytime.  

The accused will now appeal to the High Court, seeking anticipatory bail to avoid arrest, said Sanaullah Mia, a pro-BNP lawyer who deals with such cases on behalf of party leaders.

Sanaullah said over 300 BNP leaders and activists, who were arrested in the 10 cases, were produced before different Dhaka courts yesterday. Some of them were placed on remand of different terms while others were sent to jail.

Sabuj Hawlader, who is a bus driver from Mirpur 1, was arrested from Shahbagh area on Sunday.

His wife Ishita Akhtar told this newspaper, “As I found no information about my husband till 11:00pm, I visited different police stations and the DB office, but failed to find him.”

Finally around 11:00am yesterday, she said, someone from the DB office called her and asked her to go to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka where her husband Sabuj, 32, would be taken.

Sabuj was sent to jail after being produced before the CMM's Court, she added.

Asked about her husband's political affiliation, Ishita said she does not know about any such connection.

Just a month ago, police filed dozens of cases against thousands of BNP leaders and activists across the country centring on the BNP's founding anniversary programmes.

Even, people who had died much before the date of alleged occurrence, an Oman expatriate and hajj pilgrims who were outside the country at the time were made accused in some of the cases. Even a man was named twice as accused in a single case.

Many accused had alleged that those cases were false and politically motivated. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who led her party to a landslide victory in the national election, may come up with a surprise by inducting new faces into the cabinet, likely to be formed on Sunday.

On the other hand, she may exclude some current cabinet members with “tainted images” for their "controversial roles” during the last five years in power, said party insiders.

Hasina may pick the new faces with clean images to present the country a new leadership, they said.

President Abdul Hamid will appoint members of the new cabinet on the PM's advice and administer their oath at the Bangabhaban.

According to ruling Awami League sources, some leaders who did not get party nomination for the December 30 polls may find themselves in the cabinet as a “reward”. Besides, the cabinet is likely to have three to four technocrat ministers.

The Daily Star talked with several AL leaders about the formation of the next cabinet. But the PM did not officially discuss anything about it with them, they said.

Hasina is now leading a 49-member cabinet comprising 30 ministers, 17 state ministers and two deputy ministers. Four technocrat ministers resigned last month.

The AL sealed victory in the national polls for the third consecutive time, securing a two-thirds majority. Out of the 298 seats, the AL-led alliance won in 288 and of them the ruling party itself got 259 seats.

According to AL leaders, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, also former general secretary of the party, may be dropped from the cabinet due to his illness. Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Food Minister Qamrul Islam, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Textiles and Jute Minister Emaj Uddin Pramanik and Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan are also likely to be left out.

Besides, State Minister for Information Tarana Halim, State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque, State Minister for Social Welfare Nuruzzaman Ahmed and Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Arif Khan Joy also may not get any place in the new cabinet.

Of them, Maya and Joy didn't get party nomination for Sunday's       election.

According to sources, the MPs-elect and some leaders are lobbying the prime minister and her close aides hard to be in the cabinet.

On several occasions in the past, Finance Minister AMA Muhith had said he would retire after the polls. But on Tuesday, he said he may remain as the minister for another year if the PM wanted him to do so.

In that case, Muhith may continue to be at the helm of the finance ministry as a technocrat minister.

Telecom and ICT minister Mustafa Jabbar and Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, who resigned from cabinet before the polls, might to be inducted in the cabinet again as technocrat ministers.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim, LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Narayan Chandra Chanda, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam, State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder, State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid and State Minister for Environment Abdullah Al Islam Jacob are likely to continue as ministers. But there might be changes in their portfolio, party insiders said.

Besides, some new faces, including AL presidium members Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruq Khan and Abdur Razzak; the PM's Private Sector Affairs Adviser Salman F Rahman, AL Joint General Secretary Dipu Moni, party's Cultural Affairs Secretary Asim Kumar Ukil, Liberation War Affairs Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, Organising Secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and central committee member RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury also have good chances to be included in the new cabinet.

Of them, the name of Faruq Khan is being discussed as the foreign minister.

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who won from Narail-2, is likely to be a state minister if he does not participate in the cricket World Cup starting in May. If he plays in the WC, he will get the position after the tournament.   

Besides, leaders from the AL's allies, including Jatiya Party, Jatiya Party (Manju), Workers Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), would be in Hasina's new cabinet, insiders added.