Bail denied for ex-CEC Awal in poll manipulation case

A Dhaka court today rejected the bail petition of former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal in a high-profile case involving alleged manipulation of national elections.

Judge Nargis Islam of the Dhaka Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court passed the order after hearing arguments from both sides.

Awal was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police on June 25 from the Moghbazar area and placed on a three-day remand the following day by Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mustafizur Rahman.

The case, filed on June 22 by BNP National Executive Committee member Md Salah Uddin Khan, accuses 24 individuals—including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and three former CECs—of orchestrating electoral fraud during the 2014, 2018, and 2024 parliamentary elections.

Among the accused are former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, four former Inspectors General of Police (IGPs), several election commissioners, and former heads of intelligence agencies such as the Special Branch (SB), National Security Intelligence (NSI), and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

On the same day the case was filed, police detained another former CEC, KM Nurul Huda, after he was apprehended by a mob in Uttara. He was later formally arrested in connection with the case.