Bangladesh's former election chief arrested over vote rigging claims

BANGLADESH's former chief election commissioner K M Nurul Huda has been arrested on charges of manipulating elections during his tenure, police said.

Dhaka metropolitan police’s deputy commissioner Mohidul Islam said Huda was arrested in the case filed by former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) against the former election commission chief and 18 others, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Election Commission officials said this was probably the first time that a former CEC has been detained over issues related to elections, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

Earlier in the day, the 77-year-old, who oversaw the elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024, was assaulted by a mob outside his Uttara residence.

Uttara West police station chief Hafizur Rahman said, "We went to the scene after being informed" that a mob has surrounded Huda. We have brought him into our custody.”

Another police officer said the mob raided Huda’s residence located at Uttara area in Dhaka and dragged him out of his house before the arrival of police.

Videos circulating on social media show a group of people thrashing Huda with shoes, garlanding him with footwear, and throwing eggs at him from close proximity.

In the videos, the mob was seen abusing him with filthy language and continuing to beat him even after the police arrived at the scene.

Huda would spend the night at the police’s detective branch office and would be produced before a court for consequent legal actions, he said.

The BNP filed a case against 19 people, including Huda, for conducting general elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024 under Hasina regime "without people's mandate". Hasina had won all these elections.

The assault of Huda triggered an uproar on social media, prompting chief advisor Muhammad Yunus’ interim government to issue a statement around midnight.

“The mob-created unruly situation and the physical assault on the accused has drawn the government's attention. The government urges citizens not to take the law into their hands," the statement said.

It also warned of appropriate actions against such people.

Yunus took over as the head of the interim government after Hasina was ousted in a massive student-led protest in August last year. She fled to India following the toppling of her Awami League government

Most senior leaders of the Awami League and ministers and senior officials of the ousted regime were arrested or fled the country after the fall of the then government.

Several of these leaders, including ministers, in the past several months have come under mob attack, particularly on court premises.

Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence at 32 Dhanmandi in Dhaka, which was turned into a memorial museum, was demolished by a mob using bulldozers in February this year.

(PTI)