Ruling party student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leaders have vandalised and exploded crude bombs in the house of a US expatriate former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader Badal Mirza in Noakhali’s Sunaimuri who staged demonstration demanding fair polls in Bangladesh in front of Awami League MP Shamim Osman during his visit in New York’s Jackson Heights area on Thursday. The JCD leader along with others chanted slogans demanding voting rights and restoration of democracy in the country. They also condemned the vote rigging under ruling Awami League government by chanting slogans like “Vote thief, Vote thief.”
The BCL men attacked the house of Badal Mirza, who was a former leader of Sonaimuri upazila JCD, the student wing of BNP, on Saturday morning. Badal, 36, is from Amki village under ward no. 8 in Joyag union parishad in the upazila, and son of Abu Bahar. Bahar was an active leader of upazila unit Chhatra Dal while in the country.
Joyag union parishad chairman Shawkat Akbar Palash said Badal went to South Africa some 8 to 10 years ago and later moved to the US.
Witnesses said a total of 15-20 leaders-activists of BCL went to Badal’s house by motorbike at around 10 in the morning. The BCL men exploded 10-12 crude bombs and created and vandalised his home. No members of Badal’s family were present at that time as they went into hiding since last night. The BCL leader during the attack chanted different slogans.
Asked about the attack, upazila BCL president Arif Hossain said Badal was a Chhatra Dal cadre when he would live in the country and was involved with various wrongdoings. He fled the area as the regime changed in the face of public wrath.
He said Badal tried to harass a senior Awami League leader such Shamim Osman which is not acceptable at all. That’s why some BCL leaders went to Badal’s house to warn his family members.
The BCL leader said he heard some overzealous youth vandalised the Badal’s house at that time.
Sonaimuri police station’s officer in charge Jiaul Haque said no one from the victim's family filed any complaint or informed police of the incident.
The OC said he sent policemen after hearing about the incident.
Legal action would be taken if the family of Badal files any complaint over the incident, he added.
Shamim Osman, AL MP from Narayanganj-4, went to the Little Bangladesh area of Jackson Heights in New York on Wednesday evening. As soon as spotting Shamim, New York unit BNP leader Rabbi, Badal Mirza and some others gathered there and started demonstrating demanding fair polls in Bangladesh in front of him. They chanted slogans demanding voting rights and restoration of democracy in the country. They also condemned the vote rigging under ruling Awami League government by chanting slogans like “Vote thief, Vote thief.”
The video footage of the incident went viral on Facebook.
