Tara Mia finds it difficult to even move his right arm deformed since birth. A bit tall and scrawny, the man from Sunamganj's Jamalganj upazila uses his left hand to have meals.

Yet, he is one of the 52 people, who allegedly attacked police with machetes, hockey sticks and iron rods in Mallikpur Bazar area around 4:40pm on December 28, two days before the 11th parliamentary polls.

He was named as an accused in a case filed by police with Jamalganj Police Station two days later.

"How can I attack policemen when my right hand is almost unusable and even my left hand does not function properly," Tara Mia told this correspondent on the High Court premises yesterday.

"I don't do politics. I live on alms ... I'm worried about my family's survival," said the 45-year-old man who went to the HC to seek anticipatory bail in the case.

Tarikul Islam, assistant sub-inspector at Jamalganj Police Station, filed the case accusing 52 named and 70 to 80 unnamed people.

According to the case statement, the accused gathered unlawfully in Mallikpur Bazar area and brought out a procession in support of "sheaf of paddy" around 4:40pm on that day.

They blocked the road and attacked police, leaving at least five policemen, including the complainant, injured.

"I did not participate in any procession whatsoever, let alone attacking police," said Tara Mia.

He was anxiously pacing up and down the court premises.

The fear of arrest brought the man to the HC from Sunamganj on January 15. Since then, he has been staying either at the roadside or empty places as he cannot afford to rent a hotel room.

His wait for bail lingered as the court could not hear his petition yesterday due to time constraint.

Like him, around 600 to 700 people thronged the HC corridors yesterday, seeking bail in cases they claim to be false.

These cases were filed in weeks before the election, mostly against BNP leaders and supporters, allegedly for vandalising campaign offices of the ruling Awami League and its allies, or for planning subversive activities.

They came from Sunamganj, Jashore, Sylhet, Bogura, Narayanganj, Sherpur, Netrakona, Mymensingh and several other districts. Many of them came to the capital over a week ago to seek bail.

A few of them told this newspaper that the incidents happened but they were falsely implicated in the cases.

Several hundred people turned up on the HC premises every day for the last one week. Many of them got bail while others had to wait for hearing.

Yesterday, they were waiting in groups under trees. Some were standing while several others were seen lying on the grass. Anxiety and anger were writ on their faces.

Seventy-year old Mofazzal Hossain from Sherpur's Jhenaigati upazila is one of them. Weary, he was seen dozing off around 2:00pm under a tree on the court premises.

He did not even know the charges brought against him. He was an accused in a case filed with Jhenaigati Police Station.

"I am not involved in politics but I was implicated in a political case,” he said.

Yards away, Manik Mia, who was made an accused along with Tara Mia, was crying, holding another person.

"I am very poor ...  I earn a living by rearing ducks ... sometimes I work as a day labourer.

"They made me an accused, but I don't know how I will continue the case against me,” Manik said in a chocked voice.

"I took a loan of Tk 1,000 from a neighbour, but I have already spent most of it in the last few days," he said.

Asked about the case against Tara and Manik, the complainant, ASI Tarikul, said only those involved in the incident were made accused.

TS Ayub, president of Bagarpara upazila BNP in Jashore, is one of the over 1,000 BNP men, who were accused in at least eight cases filed a couple of days before the polls.

"We have been away from home much before the election. If we don't get bail, we will not be able to return home," he said.

The Daily Star could not independently verify their claims. But there have been media reports that “ghost” cases were filed before the election, and even dead men, people staying abroad and injured persons were made accused.

A couple of months ago, the police authorities ordered the unit chiefs to scrutinise how such cases were filed in different parts of the country in September and October.

For example, police in the capital filed 38 cases against several thousand leaders and activists of the BNP and its front organisations within 12 hours of the BNP rally on September 30 at Suhrawardy Udyan.

The Daily Star visited the 10 spots named as “place of occurrence” in the cases filed with Hazaribagh, Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, New Market, Kamrangirchar, Motijheel, Paltan, Shahbagh, Ramna and Jatrabari police.

This newspaper spoke with more than a dozen roadside vendors, shop owners and their employees and local residents around each of those spots. None of them could recall any incident of attack on police, vandalism or obstruction of police duty as claimed in the case statements.

The European Parliament has announced that it will not observe the upcoming national election in Bangladesh.

“The European Parliament will not observe this electoral process and consequently will neither comment on the process nor on the results that will be announced afterwards. Moreover, there will be no European Union Election Observation Mission,” the EP said in a statement in Brussels yesterday.

The European Union's top diplomat in Dhaka indicated that the decision was taken due to “resource constraints”.

“No individual Member of the European Parliament [MEP] has been mandated to observe or comment on this electoral process on its behalf,” the co-chairs of the EP's Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group said in the statement.

“Any statements made by Members of the European Parliament on these elections therefore do not represent in any way the view of the European Parliament or the European Union.”

The statement was issued by MEPs David McAllister and Linda McAvan. The EU Delegation to Bangladesh also issued the same statement yesterday.

The EP stated its position on the election in its resolution of November 15, 2018. It hoped that the December 30 polls would be “peaceful, transparent and participatory so that citizens can express a genuine political choice”.

The EP called upon the political forces to refrain from any violence or instigation of violence during the electoral period.

The EU last month informed the Bangladesh Election Commission that it would not send its full-fledged election observer mission. It said only two “electoral experts” would be deployed.

As per that decision, electoral experts David Noel Ward and Eirini-Maria Gounari arrived in Bangladesh on Tuesday. The two will be staying here till January 15 next year.

Asked why the European Parliament decided not to observe the national election, which would be participated by all political parties, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink said the European Parliament sends a very small number of observers only when the EU deploys a fully-fledged observation mission. 

“As this time the EU does not send an Election Observer Mission; the European Parliament is not sending observers. From the EU side, we see a growing demand from partner countries to have an EU Election Observer Mission. In the context of constrained resources, the EU has to make a difficult choice on where to deploy,” she told The Daily Star.

Earlier, the EU had cancelled sending election observer missions to Bangladesh in 2006 when the election was postponed amid violence and anarchy, and in 2014 when more than half of the 300 parliamentary seats were won uncontested.

EU AMBASSADOR MEETS ECs

“We hope a good contest and free and fair election will be held,” Ambassador Rensje Teerink told reporters after meeting the election commissioners at the Nirbachan Bhaban yesterday.

Teerink was accompanied by the two electoral experts of the EU. The experts, David Noel Ward and Erini-Maria Gourani, arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday to monitor the situation before and after the national election.

“We had a good meeting with the CEC and his colleagues,” she told reporters.

EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed at another briefing said the expert team expressed satisfaction over the atmosphere.

Stern actions will be taken against persons responsible for banking scams and the Bangladesh Bank will be given full autonomy to run the banking sector, Jatiya Oikyafront said in its manifesto.

Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convener of Nagorik Oikya and a leader of the Oikyafront, read out the manifesto in a press briefing at a hotel in Dhaka today.

Manna said corruption during the current government’s tenure will be investigated and the persons found involved will be brought to justice.

The Anti -Corruption Commission will be made truly independent, the alliance said in its election promises.

The provision to get prior government permission to arrest civil servants will be scrapped, Oikyafront leader Manna said.

He further said effective measures will be taken to stop flight of capital and money already laundered will be brought back.

No on-going projects will be cancelled but a committee will be formed to review the projects taken hurriedly in the last two years, he said.

Actions will be taken against share market scamsters, he added.

WHAT IS JATIYA OIKYAFRONT?

The Jatiya Oikyafront is an alliance of the BNP, Dr Kamal Hossain-led Jatiya Oikya Prokriya, ASM Abdur Rob’s Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, and Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s Nagorik Oikya.

The Oikyafront was formed on October 13 with the demands of a national election under a neutral government after dissolution of parliament and release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail.

WHAT ARE OIKYAFRONT’S AGENDAS?

Formed with major political oppositions to ruling alliance, the Oikyafront includes ruling Awami League’s arch opposition BNP.

Currently, they are campaigning with a seven-point charter including freedom for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and election under a nonpartisan government.

WHAT ARE OIKYAFRONT’S DEMANDS?

The 11-point goal announced by the alliance includes ensuring checks and balances in the state power, decentralisation of administration, freeing MPs from the stringent restrictions imposed on them under article 70 of the constitution, formation of a constitutional commission to make appointments to all constitutional and other important posts and full independence of the judiciary.

The alliance also announced a seven-point demand, including the one for holding the next parliamentary election under a nonpartisan government, dissolution of parliament before the polls and reconstitution of the Election Commission.

Jatiya Oikyafront’s leader Dr Kamal Hossain today urged law enforcers against following unlawful orders.  

Bringing allegation that the government has taken total control of police and administration, he said, “I have never seen such a situation in my life.”

Kamal, also the president of Gonoforum, was addressing a press briefing just before Jatiya Oikyafront’s manifesto was unveiled at a city hotel in Dhaka.

“Our candidates are arrested everywhere. Not even one of our candidates has been spared from attack and harm,” he claimed.

 Dr Kamal also recast a shadow of doubt over the fairness of the upcoming polls.

“Ensure the polls are held in the way the public wants,” Dr Kamal urged everyone.

If fair and credible polls are not held then the country will be pushed into a terrifying situation, Dr Kamal said.

The veteran leader also echoed the statement of students’ who were protesting for safer roads and said “this country needs to be repaired.”