Nayapaltan Clash: EC wants report from police

The Election Commission (EC) yesterday sent a letter to the Inspector General of Police seeking a report on the clash between BNP activists and law enforcers in front of the party's Nayapaltan office on November 14.

"In the letter, we sought a full-fledged report on the matter by November 18," EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed confirmed The Daily Star.

The letter asked the police to scrutinise the matter so that those who were not involved in the incident do not get harassed.

Besides, in the letter the EC urged the police not to involve anyone in cases that may hamper the environment of a free and fair election, said a joint secretary of the EC.

During the clash, at least 20 BNP men and as many police officials were injured.

Right after the incident, both Awami League and BNP placed counter allegations for spoiling a peaceful atmosphere that prevailed in the country ahead of the polls.

A total of 488 people, including senior BNP leaders Mirza Abbas and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, were accused in three different cases filed over the incident.

Among the accused, at least 72 people were arrested and produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka.

The clash erupted a day after the EC sent a letter to the police urging proper enforcement of the code of conduct of polls ahead of the 11th parliamentary election, scheduled for December 30.

After the incident, EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said the EC would examine the incident in Nayapaltan.

"We will want to know about the incident from the police," he said.

STERN ACTION IF POLLING OFFICIALS FOUND BIASED

The EC yesterday warned its officials of punitive actions if they are found guilty of bias during the upcoming election.

"If any allegation of bias is raised against any of the election commission officials and those are proved through investigation, the commission will take punitive action,” said Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury.

“Neutrality is very important for this election," he said during a training programme for the field-level EC officials at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka.

The programme was arranged to train the field-level election officers on the uses of electronic voting machine (EVM), election management system software and result management system software.

The upcoming election would be a participatory one, the commissioner said, adding that the officials would have to create equal opportunity for every candidate.

It should be ensured that voters can exercise their franchise freely and return home safely, said Shahadat.

An election beyond any question is what the EC wants, he said.