Noakhali Correspondent: Miscreants hacked to death Shaheduzzaman Palash (35), polling agent of the Awami League’s independent candidate in Noakhali-2 (Senbagh and Sonaimuri) constituencies.
The incident took place on Saturday (January 13) at around 10 p.m. in East Mirzanagar village of Ward No. 8 of the Nateshwar Union of Sonaimuri. The police of the Sonaimuri police station recovered the body at around 11:30 p.m. after receiving the information. However, initially, the police could not confirm who killed them.
The deceased Shaheduzzaman Palash of Nateshwar Union of Sonaimuri, Md. of East Mirzanagar village. Son of Jamal Uddin. Awami League independent candidate Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik said that Shaheduzzaman was a polling agent with a scissor symbol in the center of Purba Mirzanagar Government Primary School.
According to the police and local sources, Shaheduzzaman lived abroad. After coming to the country, he farmed fish and chicken in the area. He lived in his in-laws’ house with his wife. During the day, he used to come to his house and take care of the farm. His wife last spoke to Shaheduzzaman via mobile video call around 8:30 p.m. yesterday. Neighbors found Shaheduzzaman’s body lying in a bloody state in an empty space next to his house in Purba Mirzanagar village at around 10 p.m. on his way from his home to his in-laws. Sharp weapon injuries were seen on his forehead and face. The local people initially informed the police of the Sonaimuri police station. Later, the police arrived at the spot and, after making a report, recovered the body and took it away.
Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik, an independent candidate of the Awami League with a scissor symbol, complained and said, “Since that day, the local boat supporters have been threatening Shaheduzzaman because he protested against fake votes and illegal influence in the polling station in the last January 7 election. He may be killed because of this. I demand a fair investigation of this incident and for the culprits to be brought under the law immediately.
However, claiming that the independent candidate’s complaint is baseless, the winning member of parliament, Morshed Alam, said, “I was a member of parliament in Noakhali-2 constituency for the last 10 years. No political violence or killings have occurred in the area for a long time. The candidate who lost the election has launched a smear campaign to make me feel socially inferior. After learning about the murder, I immediately instructed those concerned to conduct a proper investigation and bring the culprits to justice.
Sonaimuri police station OC Mohammad Bakhtiar Uddin Chowdhury said, ‘Yesterday around 11 o’clock, we got the information and recovered the body. It is not yet known who caused this incident. After the investigation, it will be known why he was killed. Further legal action will be taken based on the complaint of the family in this incident.
