EC wants to know whereabouts of B’baria missing candidate

Staff Reporter :
Election Commissioner Rasheda Sultana said that the Election Commission (EC) has given strict instructions to law enforcement agencies to rescue independent candidate Abu Asif Ahmed in the Brahmanbaria-2 (Sarail-Ashuganj) by-election, who went missing for last four days.
She said, “Instruction has been given to law enforcement agencies to find out this missing candidate. I don’t believe that they (law enforcement agencies) could not rescue this person if they want.”
Urging the law enforcement agencies to rescue the missing candidate by any means, Election Commissioner Rasheda Sultana said, “Rescue him. Try sincerely to find him. Find him by any means before the election.”
The Election Commissioner told this to journalists at her office in Nirbachan Bhaban at city’s Agargaon on Monday.
On Sunday, Meherunnisa, wife of the missing candidate, said her husband went missing since Friday evening.
“Mobile phone set of my husband is switched off. We don’t know where he is and where he is staying. We are getting threats every time.”
She said the MP hopeful went out of his house in Ashuganj after lunch on Friday for campaigning, and he could not be reached over the phone since evening of that day.
Voters consider Asif, a former upazila chairman, to be the main rival of another independent runner Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan, an expelled BNP leader who is contesting the February 1 by-election “with blessings from the ruling Awami League”.
Meherunnesa said they would lodge a complaint with police today (Monday) if they failed to trace Asif by yesterday.
She alleged that police conducted searches at their home several times after Asif went missing.
“We are being harassed so that we cannot appoint polling agents.”
Shakhawat Hossain, superintendent of Brahmanbaria police, said they didn’t have any information that law enforcers picked up Asif.
“We have not received any complaint from Abu Asif Ahmed’s family about harassment by police,” he added.