A mob assaulted Bangladesh‘s former chief election commissioner, Nurul Huda, at his residence in Dhaka on Sunday before he was detained over issues related to elections.
Hours before his arrest, the ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia’s party, the BNP, filed a case against him and 23 others over electoral irregularities during his tenure.
EC officials said this is probably the first time a former CEC had been detained over issues related to elections.
In a video footage that went viral on social media, a group of people were seen pelting the former CEC with shoes. Some people hit him on his cheek with their shoes. The mob also shouted various slogans. He was wearing a lungi and a T-shirt when police arrested him and took him away.
Nurul Huda, a retired secretary of the Bangladesh government, served as the country’s Chief Election Commissioner from 2017 to 2022.
The 2018 general elections were held while he was CEC. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League won a landslide victory in those elections.
Mohidul Islam, deputy commissioner (Uttara division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said a team from the Uttara West Police Station arrested Huda around 7:30pm.
He added that Huda was arrested in the case lodged against him earlier in the day, and taken into the DB custody for the sake of his security.
“Former Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda was arrested by the Uttara Police Station in the capital on Sunday, June 22, in a specific case. The chaotic situation created by the “mob” and physical assault of the accused has come to the attention of the government”, the Bangladesh interim government said in a statement.
“The government is requesting all citizens of the country not to take the law into their own hands again”, it added.
According to the statement, all accused persons will be tried as per the laws of the land, and the court will decide on the matters and persons under trial.
“All accused persons will be tried in accordance with the laws of the land, and the court will decide on the matters and persons under trial”, the statement said.
“Attacking and physically assaulting the accused is illegal, against the rule of law and a criminal offence. Law enforcement will identify all those who create a “mob” and create a chaotic situation and take appropriate action,” the statement said.
“All citizens are being requested to play a tolerant role in the struggle for establishing justice,” it stated.
On Sunday, the BNP filed a case against three former CECs, including Huda, deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 10 election commissioners, and 10 others over election irregularities with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
The two other CECs are Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and Kazi Habibul Awal, who presided over the national elections of 2014 and 2024 respectively.
The KM Nurul Huda-led commission became controversial after the December 2018 general election with opposition parties alleging ballot-box stuffing the night before election day.
The Awami League won 288 out of 300 parliamentary seats in that election.
