Khulna police recover ballot paper, counterfoils, probe on

Police on Sunday night recovered 78 counterfoils and one unused ballot paper allegedly used and meant for use respectively in the recent Khulna City Corporation elections.

Khulna, Aug 11 (bdnews24.com) – Police on Sunday night recovered 78 counterfoils and one unused ballot paper allegedly used and meant for use respectively in the recent Khulna City Corporation election.

The papers were recovered from near the office of BNP leader and mayor candidate Md Moniruzzaman Moni at Haji Mohsin Road in the city. A case has been filed with Khulna Sadar Police Station.

The numbers of the ballot paper counterfoils in a cluster were 0013605 to 0013681 and the number of another counterfoil was 0013603. The number of the unused ballot paper was 0013691 and the counterfoils bore fingerprints.

The counterfoils in a cluster had the name of assistant presiding officer Ataur Rahman on the back and his signature and were dated Aug 4.

Khulna Division deputy election commissioner and returning officer Md Mohsin Ali told journalists that the recovered unused ballot paper and counterfoils of the ballot papers were of Yousef MA Mazid School Centre in Ward 2 of the city.

Police and election officials have launched separate investigations after a case was filed with Khulna Police Station.

He said assistant presiding officer Ataur Rahman was called in to the election office at 1pm Monday for his version on the counterfoils and ballot paper.

Assistant presiding officer of the city's Mirerdanga Islamia Alia Madrasa, Ataur Rahman, said at around 10pm on Aug 4 he had brought the ballot paper and counterfoils in a sack to the election office with the help of election officials.

When they were being stuffed into the sack, there was no electricity and the unused ballot paper and counterfoils might have fallen out of the sack and then taken away out of enmity.

KCC acting mayor Moniruzzaman Moni, who was a mayor candidate, said the discovery of counterfoils outside had called the voting into question. The Election Commission and others should look into the matter, he said, adding that he would consult legal experts.

Moni's chief election agent Md Abu Zafar said he and four to five others were watching television in the house used as the main election office during the polls at around 11pm Sunday when a packet was thrown towards the office from a rickshaw. The counterfoils were inside the packet. Police went to the spot at around 12:45 am and took the packet to Sadar Police Station.

Zafar claimed the statement of the assistant presiding officer was 'ridiculous and unwarranted' and demanded a 'proper' investigation into the incident.

Khulna Sadar police chief Ataur Rahman they were investigating the incident.

bdnews24.com/corr/msb/eh/rm/bd/2329hours