23 elected mayors accused of murder

As many as 43 newly elected mayors are accused in cases filed for various charges. Of them, 23 are charged with murder and attempted murder cases.

This information was collected from the papers submitted to the Election Commission (EC) by 207 of the unofficially elected 215 mayors.

Elections to 234 municipalities across the country were held on 30 December, 2015.

The EC website shows that 152 mayors are businessmen, including 33 contractors, and 39 are multi-millionaires.

Murder and attempted murder charges: A total of 161 mayors were elected from the ruling Awami League. Among them, nine are charged with murder or attempt to murder.

Mezbah Uddin (Ramgati), Kazi Ashraful Azam (Shailkupa), Asadul Haque (Kendua), Abbas Ali (Katakhali), Jamilur Rahman (Tangail) and Salek Mia (Shaistaganj) are all charged with murder.

Abdul Mazid (Kakanhata), Nuruddin Al Mamun (Chougachha) and Sanat Kumar Biswas (Chalna) are facing lawsuits filed for attempt-to-murder.

As many as 20 mayors were elected from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Of them, nine are facing murder or attempt-to-murder charges.

GK Gaus, elected from Habiganj municipality, is now in jail on charges of killing former finance minister SAMS Kibria.

Fahmid Faisal Chowdhury (Jaldhaka), Mizanur Rahman (Tanore), Tareq Ahmed (Rohonpur), Syed Jahangir Alam (Dinajpur), Sabir Ahmed Chowdhury (Nabiganj), Aminul Haque (Phulpur), Tazkin Ahmed (Satkhira) and Akhtarul Islam (Kalaroa) are now facing attempt-to-murder cases.

Among the mayors who were elected independently, Nazrul Islam (Jamaat-e-Islami leader) elected from Chapainawabganj is facing one murder and two attempted murder cases while Quamrul Hassan, (rebel BNP leader) elected from Pabna, is charged with one murder case.

AGM Badshah (AL rebel candidate) elected from Bogra’s Dhunat, Kamrul Hassan Siddique (BNP rebel candidate) of Nandigram and Ashraful Islam (AL rebel candidate) of Meherpur’s Gangni are charged with one or more than one attempt-to-murder cases.

Among the elected mayors of ruling AL, 21 are now facing one or more cases.

Though some of the newly elected mayors are not accused in any case currently, they were accused in a number of cases in the past.

Jamilur Rahman, AL-backed mayor elected from Tangail municipality, is not accused in any case currently, but he was accused in 16 cases from 1993 to 2010.

Debashish Palit, another AL-backed mayor from Raozan of Chittagong, was also accused in 12 cases in the past. He is not facing any cases now.

According to the EC website Nazrul Islam, an independent mayoral candidate elected from Chapainawabganj municipality, is accused in a total of 17 cases, including those filed under explosive substance act and arms act. Nazrul was accused in three cases in the past.

Among BNP’s 20 mayors, 14 are charged with a total of 35 cases which were filed in the past two years.

Education: According to the elected mayors’ affidavits, 81 are graduates or master’s degree holders while 59 just pass HSC, 25 SSC, 15 class VIII and the rest did not mention their educational qualifications.

Multi-millionaire mayors: According to the affidavits, 35 mayors are multi-millionaires. Of them, 30 elected mayors belong to AL, four to BNP and the remaining one is an independent candidate.

Local government expert Prof Tofail Ahmed told Prothom Alo that candidates now submit affidavits and this is a partial achievement for the EC. If these affidavits are not verified, the entire effort will be of no use.

The EC, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank and Anti-Corruption Commission should verify whether the candidates submit correct information or not, he added.