EC to withdraw UNO, OC over Sherpur violence

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday decided to withdraw the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and the officer-in-charge (OC) of Jhenaigati upazila in Sherpur district following Wednesday’s election-related violence that left a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader dead.

“The Commission has decided to withdraw the UNO and the OC. The remaining procedural steps will be completed as soon as possible,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told a press briefing in the afternoon.

Describing the incident as highly condemnable, Akhtar said a violent incident occurred in Sherpur on Wednesday which went against the electoral code of conduct.

“There is a provision in our code of conduct that the electoral manifesto shall be read out and the election campaign shall be carried out amid coordinal environment. Unfortunately, a tragic incident occurred there on Wednesday,” he said.

Rezaul Karim, general secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islami Sreebardi upazila unit, was critically injured during a clash between Jamaat and BNP activists at the Jhenaigati Bazar area on Wednesday evening.

He later succumbed to his injuries on the way to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.