BNP candidate declared eligible despite being a fugitive in July murder case

Staff Correspondent

The nomination of BNP candidate Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah for the Munshiganj-1 (Sirajdikhan-Srinagar) parliamentary constituency has been declared valid, despite allegations that he is a fugitive accused in the student murder and attempted murder cases during the July Movement.

The Returning Officer and the Deputy Commissioner made this decision during the scrutiny of nomination papers held at the Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner’s office on January 1.

After this decision, several rival candidates, including independent candidates, expressed anger.

There are allegations that Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah concealed information about multiple criminal cases in his affidavit. Despite this, the declaration of his nomination papers as valid has created discussion and criticism in the constituency and political arena.

According to the case file, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is the 69th named accused in the case number GR 256/25 of Mirpur Model Police Station. In that case, 108 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, have been named as accused. In addition, 400 to 500 other unidentified people have been named as accused. The case was filed on May 12, 2025.

The complaint states that on the afternoon of July 18, 2024, students participating in the anti-discrimination student movement at the Mirpur-10 roundabout in the capital were shot, beaten and attempted to be killed. Several students were seriously injured in the incident. One of the injured students was treated at Dhaka CMH Hospital and the case states that the bullets are still in his body.

Besides, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is also known to be the accused in another case filed at Rampura Police Station. The case was filed on October 19, 2024. The investigating officer of the case is RAB-3, Tikatuli SI Mostafizur Rahman. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is the accused in the case number 12.

After the nominations were declared valid, several independent candidates expressed their anger and complained that declaring the nominations of fugitive and absconding accused in serious criminal cases as valid is against election law and ethics. They also claimed that this is questioning the acceptability of the upcoming national elections.

The nomination papers of two independent BNP candidates were cancelled after discrepancies were found in the signatures of one percent of voters in the Munshiganj-1 constituency during the verification held on the same day.

The rejected candidates are Mir Safarat Ali Sapu, volunteer affairs secretary of the BNP central executive committee, and Momin Ali, a district committee member.

District administration sources said that after the scrutiny, the nomination papers of a total of five candidates in Munshiganj-1 constituency have been declared valid. The valid candidates are BNP’s Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Md. Atiqur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami’s AKM Fakhruddin Razi, Communist Party’s Abdur Rahman and Biplob Insaniat Bangladesh’s candidate Rokeya Akhter.

Sources in the office of the returning officer said that there is an opportunity to appeal against this decision within the prescribed time limit as per the rules. The aggrieved candidates said that preparations are being made to appeal to the Election Commission or file a writ in the High Court if necessary.

When attempts were made to contact the returning officer and deputy commissioner Syeda Nurmahal Ashrafi on her mobile phone several times to inquire about this matter, her assistant answered the call and said that the returning officer was busy in a meeting. The matter would be informed once the meeting was over.