Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday alleged that the arrest of its Thakurgaon district Amir with Tk 50 lakh at Syedpur Airport was “a drama staged by law enforcement agencies” to malign the party ahead of the 13th national parliamentary elections.
Speaking at a hurriedly arranged press conference at the party’s central office in Dhaka, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and chief of its Central Publicity and Media Department, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, claimed the incident was politically motivated.
“The Thakurgaon district Amir is a businessman. Such a plot was staged in a highly secure place like an airport to make Jamaat controversial,” he said.
Zubair also alleged that attempts were being made to disrupt what he described as a peaceful election environment.
According to him, an election booth in the Amir’s constituency was vandalised a day earlier, while party leaders and activists were facing attacks in different parts of the country.
He further claimed that Jamaat polling agents were being removed and harassed “in the name of law enforcement,” adding that a section of the administration was showing bias toward a particular political party.
“This action appears to be driven by a specific motive. A group is deliberately creating such incidents, and we have raised the issue at all levels,” Zubair said.
Law enforcement authorities had earlier said the Thakurgaon district Jamaat Amir Belal Uddin was detained at Syedpur Airport along with Tk 50 lakh in cash.
No immediate response from the police regarding Jamaat’s allegations was available.