BNP leader Bulbul not returning as mayor of Rajshahi for now

Rajshahi BNP leader Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul’s return to the mayor’s post still hangs in the balance.

A four-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, upheld the chamber judge’s order after hearing a petition filed by the state.
 
Bulbul was suspended after police submitted a chargesheet accusing him of arson on May 7.
 
Bulbul then moved the High Court and secured a stay on his removal on May 28.
 
Chamber Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, after hearing a prosecution plea, put in abeyance the High Court order and forwarded the plea to regular appellate bench for hearing.
 
The High Court bench had also issued a rule asking why the Rajshahi mayor’s suspension should not be declared illegal.
 
The order prompted the prosecution to move the apex court.
 
Rajshahi City Corporation Councillor Md Nizam ul Azim has been functioning as an acting mayor since May 31, in the absence of two panel mayors, after Bulbul’s suspension. 
 
The BNP has accused the ruling Awami League of implicating the mayor in a ‘false case’ in its effort to remove elected representatives from their posts.
 
Sylhet mayor Ariful Haque was also suspended after he was accused in a police case.