Our Correspondent :
Barishal City Corporation Mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah has demanded a ‘judicial probe’ into the two cases filed over the attack on the residence of Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Munibur Rahman.
He came up with the demand at a press conference arranged jointly by Barishal city and district units of Awami League in Barishal city on Saturday.
Claiming his innocence in the incident, Mayor Sadiq said, “I had no role in the clash at the UNO residence. Despite the fact, I have been made accused in the cases. So, I called upon the authorities concerned to ensure that a fair judicial probe would be done.
I am a well-known person. People all over Bangladesh know me. I will not run away. If you tell me, I will appear at the police station in person,” he said.
UNO Munibur Rahman of Barishal Sadar Upazila and Assistant sub-inspector of police Shahjalal Mallick were the plaintiffs in these cases accusing the mayor and his supporters of obstructing government works and attempt to murder.
At the press conference, the mayor demanded to release the full video, not partial footages of that night. He also mentioned that he was the victim of conspiracy which he already understood.
The mayor said he has not received any project allocation from the ministry in the last three years. However, he claimed that he was carrying out development works in the city with his own funds.
Sadiq said if he did anything wrong, he will accept any action taken by the Prime Minister.
He also expressed hope that the truth would be revealed through a proper investigation.
The city mayor has instructed the cleaners to return to work after stopping the movement to ease the sufferings of the people. He requested the administration not to harass the employees of the city corporation in the name of accused in the case.
Garbage piled up on the streets with no cleaners around as an uneasy calm prevailed in the city on Friday, two days after clashes broke out between supporters of the mayor and law enforcers leaving dozens of people injured.
On Friday, the weekend morning walkers were greeted with heaps of rotting and stinking garbage on streets across the city. Two large piles were found even on Dhaka-Barishal highway disrupting traffic movement.
The city dwellers have been facing this situation for the past two days as the city corporation’s cleaners went on an unannounced strike from work.
Police have arrested 21 people in connection with the cases filed over the attack on the residence of Barishal Sadar UNO till Saturday noon.
Nurul Islam, officer in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said “So far police have arrested 21 people in connection with the attack on the residence of the UNO and 13 of them were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday while the rest on Saturday from different parts of the city.”
Earlier, on Wednesday, a clash broke out between the supporters of the AL, BCL and members of Ansar when the former tried to attack the residence of the UNO at Sadar Upazila Complex in Barishal.
