Pro-BNP secy candidate Kajal arrested, Jubo League chairman’s wife Juthi’s house raided
Amidst chaos and controversy, the aftermath of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections in Dhaka has led to a cascade of legal proceedings.
Jubo League Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash’s wife, advocate Nahid Sultana Juthi, an independent secretary candidate for the SCBA elections, and barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal, representing the BNP panel, along with dozens others were sued on Friday over commotion and physical altercations during the vote counting process.
Subsequently, on Saturday, Kajal, a former general secretary of the association, was arrested by amid the ongoing vote counting.
Ramna police said Kajal was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department on Saturday night.
However, the case was filed on Friday at the Shahbagh Police Station in Dhaka in connection with a clash on the same day over the counting of votes in the election. A total of 20 people, including Juthi and Kajal, were accused.
Assistant Attorney General Saifur Rahman Chowdhury Saif filed the case as a plaintiff on the charge of attempt to murder.
Barrister Osman Chowdhury, along with lawyers Kazi Bashir Ahmed, Hasanuzzaman, Tariqul Islam, and Enamul Haque, were arrested by the police on Friday night following the filing of the case.
They were brought to court on Saturday with a five-day remand application. Following the hearing, the court granted a three-day remand for them.
Meanwhile, the DB Police conducted multiple raids on Nahid Sultana Juthi’s house after the case was filed.
The first operation took place on the night of Friday, during which four people were arrested. Juthi was not found at home during this time.
Police said the operation to arrest her is ongoing.
Other defendants named in the case include advocate Md Zakir Hossain alias Masood, 55, advocate Shakila Roshan, advocate Kazi Bashir Ahmed, barrister Usman, advocate Arif, advocate Sumon, advocate Tushar, Rabiul, barrister Chowdhury Moushumi Fatema, Saidur Rahman Jewel, 40, Oliur, Jubo League leader Joydeb Nandi, Main Uddin Rana, Moshiur Rahman Sumon, Kamal Hossain, Aslam Ryan, advocate Tariqul, and advocate Sohag.
Additionally, 30 to 40 individuals have been listed as unknown accused in the case.
Out of 7,883 lawyers, 5,319 participated in the 2024-25 Supreme Court Bar Association election over two days.
Outside the AL and BNP panels, Yunus Ali Akand and former additional attorney general MK Rahman contested for the position of president.
Besides, advocate Nahid Sultana Juthi and Farhad Uddin Ahmed Bhuiyan contested for the position of secretary outside the white and blue panel. Advocate Saiful Islam ran independently for the position of treasurer.
AL candidate Shah Monjurul Haque asked the election commissioners to commence vote counting on Friday afternoon, whereas rebel Nahid Sultana Juthi urged the EC to initiate counting immediately after the conclusion of voting on Friday.
The chief election commissioner Abul Khair was forced to declare Nahid Sultana Juthi as secretary without counting the votes on the grounds that no secretary candidate except Juthi was present during the vote counting and that the ballots were under the police custody until 1:30pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile, counting of votes of the two-day election of the Supreme Court Bar Association was started on Saturday afternoon, nearly after two days, in absence of the majority candidates from the AL and its counterparts BNP.
In a written statement before the counting of votes on Saturday, chief election commissioner Abul Khair said, “I was forced by some outsiders to declare winner of the secretary post without counting the votes in an untoward situation.”
Earlier on Saturday, the election commission, responsible for overseeing the association elections, held a closed-door meeting at the association auditorium, which was heavily guarded by a large number of police personnel.
The chief election commissioner requested everyone to disregard his earlier declaration of Nahid Sultana Juthi as the winning secretary candidate.
Nahid Sultana Juthi, the main accused lawyer in the case, was contacted several times on her cell phone for a statement, but she did not respond.
Before his arrest, Ruhul Quddus Kazal said that the ruling AL had been staging another drama over the association’s election, following their habitual blueprint for elections.
Meanwhile, many party insiders of ruling AL said it is the representation of family rivalry between two brothers – Juba League Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, also a key person of AL supported lawyers in the Supreme Court.
Parash’s wife tried political power in the election going beyond party decision.
Many Juba League leaders worked for her in the election though they are outsiders in the Supreme Court Bar Association. These Juba League leaders have also been made defendants in the case, they added.
