Barisal Heart Foundation Biennial Meet Foiled

AL men assault officials, capture leadership

16 May 2009, 18:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Awami League activists engaged in a heated argument with police during the biennial general meeting of Barisal Heart Foundation (BHF) yesterday, inset, injured BHF Secretary General Prof Shamsuddin Khan being taken to safety.Photo: STAR

Activists of Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League yesterday beat up Barisal Heart Foundation (BHF) Secretary General Prof Shamsuddin Khan during the biennial general meeting of BHF in the city. The unruly party activists, who foiled the meeting, also assaulted a few other BHF officials, photojournalists and misbehaved with law enforcers, witnesses said. With injuries inflicted by AL men, Prof Shamsuddin was taken to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital. As per a prior notice, biennial general meeting of the BHF was held with BNP lawmaker Majibor Rahman Sarwar, also chairman of the foundation, in the chair, said BHF officials and witnesses. Election of the 24-member executive committee and constitution amendment were the main agenda of the meeting that started on the foundation compound in the city yesterday morning. After Shamsuddin Khan read out biennial reports of the committee, the names of persons under a single panel headed by BNP lawmaker Sarwar as the candidate for the position of chairman and Prof Shamsuddin for secretary general, were presented and declared as elected unopposed to BHF executive committee . At that time AL leaders KBS Ahmed Kabir, advocate Anisuddin Shahid, advocate Hemayetuddin, advocate Afzalul Karim and advocate Laskar Nurul Huq demanded amendment to the constitution in favour of declaring city AL convener BCC Mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron as ex-officio president of BHF. As other members protested the amendment proposal, saying that it was against the rules of non-political service-oriented organisations, a group of outsiders belonging to AL, Jubo League and BCL entered the meeting venue, witnesses said. The cadres led by Ziaur Rahman Zia, convener of BCL city unit, Imran Ahmed Uzzal, joint convener, Moin Tushar, expelled BM College unit joint convener of BCL and Jubo League leader Habibur Rahman and took control of the venue. Police forces led by Hayatul Islam, assistant commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, failed to control the situation and the meeting was announced postponed. Sarwar left the venue under police escort while unruly AL men assaulted BHF officials including Prof Shamsuddin Khan, photojournalists M Zahir of local daily Ajker Barta and Mofazzal Hossain of Satya Sangbad. They also announced a 41-member convening committee of BHF headed by Shawkat Hossain Hiron, city AL convener and BCC Mayor, and AL leader advocate KBS Ahmed Kabir as convener and member secretary of the committee. Terming the AL men's act as an expression of their 'politics of occupation and politicisation', BNP lawmaker Majibor Rahman Sarwar told The Daily Star that their 24-member executive committee was duly elected by the general members as per the constitution of BHF. BCC Mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron was not available for comment as he went to Ajmeer Sharif in India last week.