Polling agent of losing candidate shot dead

Unidentified criminals shot dead a man, who was a polling agent for Noakhali-2 (Senbagh-Sonaimuri) independent candidate Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik, in the January 7 national election.

Shaheduzzaman Palash, 35, of Sonaimuri upazila, was an agent at the Purba Mirzanagar Government Primary School polling centre during the election.

Locals first saw Shaheduzzaman's body, bearing bullet wounds, near his house in the Purba Mirzanagar area on Saturday around 10:00pm.

Police later took the body to Noakhali General Hospital morgue for post-mortem yesterday morning, said Bakhtiar Uddin Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri Police Station.

Ataur Rahman, also former vice-president of Awami League's Noakhali district unit, said supporters of the "boat" symbol have been threatening Shaheduzzaman since election day as he protested against vote rigging and illegal influence at the polling centre.

Contacted, Noakhali-2 MP-elect Morshed Alam refused the allegation. "I ordered the law enforcement agencies to find and arrest the killers."

OC Bakhtiar Uddin said, "The victim's family is yet to file a written complaint. Legal action will be taken after an investigation."