BNP MP receives Awami League leader with floral garland at jail gate

A BNP lawmaker on Sunday welcomed an Awami League leader with a floral garland at the jail gate after he was released on bail in Faridpur.

MM Siddik Mia, 57, chairman of Algi Union Parishad in Bhanga upazila and a leader of Awami League, was freed from Faridpur District Jail after spending 175 days behind bars.

As he came out of the jail around noon, newly elected Faridpur-4 MP and BNP leader Shahidul Islam Babul greeted him at the jail gate with a garland. The two also exchanged garlands.

Siddik Mia previously served as science and technology affairs secretary of Bhanga upazila Awami League. He played a leading role in a protest movement against the inclusion of Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila into the Faridpur-2 (Nagarkanda–Saltha) parliamentary constituency.

During the protests, Detective Branch (DB) police detained him on the night of 13 September last year. The following day he was shown arrested in a police case and sent to Faridpur District Jail by a court.

After his release, Siddik Mia expressed gratitude to MP Shahidul Islam Babul for supporting his legal fight for bail.

Later in the day, the MP wrote on his Facebook page that before the 13th parliamentary election they had promised to secure the release of those arrested during the movement to protect Bhanga’s unions through legal means, adding that he personally received Siddik Mia at the jail gate after his release.

Earlier, the Election Commission had included Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila in the Faridpur-2 constituency through a gazette issued on 4 September, sparking protests among local residents. Following the movement and a High Court order, the two unions were later restored to the Faridpur-4 constituency, allowing residents to cast their votes there in the last election.