Both Awami League and BNP candidates for the post of mayor in Bogra's Adamdighi's Santahar municipality are accused of double murder. Discussions are going on among the voters about these two mayoral candidates.
It is learned that the mayoral candidate Ashraful Islam Montu has been nominated by the Awami League for the post of mayor in the Santahar municipality election. The current Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto has been nominated by the BNP. The two candidates have been charged with double murder. Police have already filed chargesheets against the two candidates in the double murder case.
It is learned that the current BNP mayor Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto is the accused in the double murder case. The accused in the murder case of Santahar Union Juba League president Shafiqul Islam and autorickshaw labor leader Sohrab Hossain Sohag have participated in the elections for the third time, causing anger and frustration among some BNP leaders and activists.
Several leaders and activists have expressed anger and frustration on condition of anonymity if no one can comment publicly on the party's candidature.
In the second phase, elections will be held on January 16 in this municipality by EVM system. Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto became active in politics after the BNP came to power in 2001. Before that he was an expatriate. After joining the party, Bhutto became a member of the BNP's 5th ward committee in the municipal area. After that, the former fugitive accused in the war crimes and anti-humanitarian case, Abdul Momin Talukder Khoka, a former BNP MP from Bogra-3 constituency, managed to run for the first time in the 2011 municipal elections, leaving behind former mayor Feroz Kamrul Hasan.
In that election, Bhutto defeated Awami League candidate Golam Morshed and became the mayor. Year after year, he got the post of general secretary of the municipal BNP. However, as the committee was later dissolved, he is now a member of the convening committee.
Bhutto was re-nominated for the post of mayor for the second time on December 30, 2015 in the municipal elections. In that election, BNP candidate Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto defeated Awami League candidate Sramik League leader Rashedul Islam Raja and became the mayor. Shafiqul Islam, president of Santahar Union Juba League, the elder brother of Awami League leader Rashedul Islam Raja, was hacked to death on January 8, 2016 at noon.
Autorickshaw driver Sohrab Hossain, who was seriously injured in the attack, died at the hospital two days later. BNP candidate Bhutto was accused of plotting to assassinate the pair. Police have filed a chargesheet against him in court. Among them, SI Shahin Reza of Adamdighi Police Station handed over the chargesheet of Sohrab Hossain murder case on December 11, 2016. The plaintiff in this case is Abdul Khaleq Sheikh, father of the deceased Sohrab Hossain. Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto is the 6th accused in the chargesheet filed in the court.
He is currently out on bail from the pending case. Besides, the plaintiff in another case is Nur Islam, elder brother of the deceased Shafiqul Islam. On December 21, 2016, the investigating officer of the case, SI Siddharth Saha of Santahar police outpost, filed a chargesheet in the court. The 6th accused in this case is Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto.
Incumbent mayor Tofazzal Hossain Bhutto, the BNP candidate in the Santahar municipal elections, has confirmed that a chargesheet has been filed against him in connection with the twin murders. He said he had been accused of lying and conspiracy to commit murder. He is out on bail in the case. He will prove the truth through the court.
Santahar Municipal BNP former president and former mayor Feroz. Kamrul Hasan said, "I wanted the nomination again but the party did not give it. The BNP has nominated those who were mayors last time. Although there is a case against Bhutto in the court, it is in the interest of the party to work for him.
Fazlur Bari Talukder Belal, joint convener of the Bogra district BNP convening committee, said, "The mayoral candidate has been nominated by the decision of the district and the center." The allegations against Bhutto are pending in court. If the court gives a verdict, further steps will be taken.
Meanwhile, Awami League leader Ashraful Islam Montu is the accused in two murder cases. He has been nominated for the post of mayor of Santahar municipality this time.
Bogra District Awami League Office Secretary Al Razi Jewel confirmed the information about the nomination of the boat to Ashraful Islam Montu in Santahar Municipality. He said the Central Committee had been informed of the chargesheet in two murder cases against Montu. They have decided to nominate after verification.
It is learned that Ashraful Islam Montu entered Awami politics in 1995 through Juba League. Then in 2002 he became the joint secretary of Santahar Municipal Awami League. As there was no candidate in the Union Parishad elections in 2011, he became the chairman of Santahar UP on the nomination of Awami League. Later, he lost to Labor League leader Rashedul Islam Raja in the nomination battle to become a candidate in the 2015 municipal elections. In that anger, he took a stand against the party candidate Raja in the last municipal elections. For the same reason, he took revenge by publicly killing Shafiqul Islam, the president of Santahar Union Juba League, the younger brother of the king. He is the accused in this murder case. The case is still pending in the court. He was expelled from the party in 2016 for violating party discipline after the assassination. He has not been seen in any party activities since his expulsion.
The plaintiff in the murder case, Nur Islam, elder brother of the slain Juba League leader Shafiqul, said, "Adamdighi police officer SI Shahin Reza filed the chargesheet in the court on December 21, 2016." Ashraful Islam Montu is the 13th accused in this charge sheet. The case is pending in the court. But the killers are now big leaders of the Awami League. Birdarpe is wandering around the area. It hurts to see all this.
The other incident took place on January 14, 2016. Labor leader Sohrab Hossain Sohag was publicly hacked to death in a battery-powered rickshaw. When a case was filed in the police station in this regard, a chargesheet was issued in the court on December 21, 2016. The police officer investigating the case was SI Siddharth Saha of Santahar police outpost. Montu is the 13th accused in the case.
Abdul Khaleq Sheikh, the father of slain labor leader Sohrab Hossain Sohag, the plaintiff in the case, said, "The case of his son's murder is pending in the court." He demanded that the trial be expedited.
Santahar Municipal Awami League president Abul Kashem said they had sent the names of five candidates to the Center. Montu's name was at number 3.
He admitted that chargesheets had been issued in two murder cases against Montu. The cases are pending.
Candidate Ashraful Islam Montu, who got the boat symbol, claimed that all the allegations against him were fabricated. He has survived in the party with his qualifications and got a symbol in the municipal elections. Two lawsuits have been filed against him in retaliation.
