Hero Alom’s claims have no basis

Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana yesterday rejected the vote-rigging allegations brought by Bogura-4 independent candidate Ashraful Hossain, alias Hero Alom, saying that those have no basis.

Rashida, while talking to reporters in the afternoon at her EC office in the capital, said the returning officer, as well as the district election officer, informed the commission that the results are 100 percent correct.

Hero Alom lost the Bogura-4 (Kahalu-Nandigram constituency) by-polls to ruling Awami League-led grand alliance candidate AKM Rezaul Karim Tansen, by just 834 votes, on Wednesday.

After the announcement of the results, Alom alleged that the results were rigged and he would go to the High Court to seek justice.

"We have seen the results sheets ourselves. There is no discrepancy there. When candidates lose, they make some allegations to make the elections questionable. This is the culture of our country, and Hero Alom is no exception," she said.

Mahmud Hasan, Bogura's district election commissioner and assistant returning officer, told The Daily Star that the chief election commissioner gave the order to take note of the allegations Alom made during a press conference and also on a talk show. "Later, we checked the results again and found that everything was fine," he said.

Meanwhile, a leader of Bogura District Jubo League unit has been accused of beating two journalists for covering Hero Alom's press conference on Wednesday night.

The victims are JM Rauf, district correspondent of Dainik Kaler Kantho and general secretary of Bogura Journalist Union, and Zahurul Islam, a senior journalist of a local newspaper Dainik Bogura. The incident happened at Bogura Town Club adjacent to the Bogura District Awami League office around 11:30pm on Wednesday, said the victims.

The accused Jubo League leader is Shariful Islam Shipul. "Police have been informed and will submit a written complaint," Rauf told The Daily Star.

The Daily Star repeatedly tried to reach Shipul for comments but could not reach him.

According to District Jubo League General Secretary Aminul Islam Dablu, Shipul is a vice president of the proposed district Jubo League committee.

"I hear that a misunderstanding occurred between journalists and Shipul," he said.

Asked, Noor-a-Alam Siddiqui, officer-in-charge of Bogura Sadar Police Station, said, "We have received a verbal complaint."

Legal action would be taken if a written complaint is received, said the OC.