KHULNA – A tragic incident occurred outside a polling center in Khulna city today, where Mohibujjaman Kochi, a former office secretary of the city unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), died following a confrontation involving workers of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The incident took place around 8:10 AM at the Alia Madrasa polling center in the Khulna Sadar area, just as voting for the national election commenced.
Conflicting Accounts of the Incident
While BNP leadership alleges that Kochi was killed due to a physical altercation, Jamaat-e-Islami claims the death was caused by a health issue brought on by the tension.
According to Yusuf Harun Mojnu, former organizing secretary of the Khulna Sadar police station BNP, tension had been building at the center since morning. He claimed that the principal of Alia Madrasa, Abdur Rahim Mia, was campaigning for Jamaat-e-Islami inside the center.
“When we stopped him, he pushed Mohibuজ্জামান Kochi. Kochi hit a tree and suffered severe head injuries, which led to his death,” Mojnu alleged.
Conversely, Mahabur Rahman, the center director for Jamaat-e-Islami, provided a different account. “BNP people were removing our female workers from the center. I intervened. During that time, one of them fell ill. We later heard he had passed away,” Rahman stated.
Principal Abdur Rahim Mia denied all allegations of physical assault. “I was returning home after voting at the Soburonnesa center. I saw some BNP men removing women from the area. I asked everyone to leave peacefully. I did not push anyone,” he said.
Official Response and Political Reactions
Khan Faisal Rafi, Sub-Inspector (SI) of Khulna Sadar police station, stated that law enforcement intervened when tension flared between supporters of the two parties near the center. “We separated the two sides. I saw a person being taken away in an auto-rickshaw. There was no incident of pushing or shoving here,” Rafi claimed.
Saiful Islam, the presiding officer of the center, maintained that the incident occurred outside the designated polling area, stating, “It is not my jurisdiction.”
However, Nazrul Islam Monju, the BNP candidate for the Khulna-2 constituency, directly blamed the confrontation for the death. “Mohibuজ্জামান Kochi died because of a push from a Jamaat leader at the Alia Madrasa center. We demand the immediate arrest of the principal and the Jamaat leader involved,” Monju demanded.
Sheikh Jahangir Hossain Helal, the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for the same constituency, called for a thorough investigation. “Since this incident occurred inside a polling station, there is CCTV footage available. If anyone is found guilty based on the footage, they should be punished,” he said.
