The returning officer for the upcoming Gazipur City Corporation election on Sunday cancelled the nomination paper of the corporation’s suspended mayor Mohammad Zahangir Alam.
Returning officer Md Faridul Islam cancelled the nomination paper mentioning that Zahangir, who submitted nomination papers as a mayoral candidate, was a loan defaulter.
The returning officer said that they had information from the Bangladesh Bank and the CID that Zahangir was a loan defaulter as a guarantor.
Zahangir sought nomination from Awami League to vie in the election as an AL candidate but failed to secure the nomination.
Later on April 27, Zahangir submitted his nomination papers as an independent mayoral candidate.
His mother Zaida Khatun also submitted nomination papers to become a mayoral candidate.
The nomination papers of Zaida was declared valid.
Talking to reporters, Zahangir said that he would appeal to the election commission against the returning officer’s decision against him and alleged that he did not get justice.
He said that he mortgaged his own land for humanitarian reasons to save an industrial establishment.
‘I did not take the money myself and the company is paying the loan,’ he said.
He termed the cancellation of his nomination undemocratic.
He said that he would go up to High Court and Supreme Court, if necessary.
