17 Jamaat-Shibir men sent to jail on surrender

Seventeen Jamaat-Shibir men, accused in the cases for vandalising and setting fire to polling centres in Chirirbandar and Khansama upazilas of the district during the parliamentary elections in January 2014, were sent to jail on Wednesday.

The accused are Abdur Rouf, Rajjab Ali, Abdul Noor, Rezaul Karim, Rezab Uddin, Abdul Karim and Sahed Ahmed of Chirirbandar upazila; and Abdul Mannan, Hakimur Rahman, Abdul Khaleque, Hazrat Belal, Lokman Ali, Sobhan Ali, Shafiqul Islam, Rabiul Islam, Kabirul Islam and Babul Hossain of Khansama upazila.

They surrendered before the Sessions Judge's Court in the afternoon and sought bail. Judge Shaheed Ahmed rejected their bail petitions and sent them to jail, court sources said.

According to the statements of the cases, Jamaat-Shibir men vandalised and torched at least 63 polling centres in the two upazilas on the election day on January 5 and the night before.

Later, presiding officers of the respective polling centres filed the cases with the police stations concerned, accusing over 2,500 Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists.

Court Inspector Shahidul Islam said the accused, who surrendered before the court, had been absconding since the filing of the cases.