Nurul Huda placed on 4-day remand

A Dhaka court has granted a four-day remand for former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda in a case filed over allegations of electoral fraud.

The order was issued on Monday afternoon by Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman. Earlier, Sub-Inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, the investigating officer, had sought a 10-day remand.

On Sunday evening (June 22), Huda was handed over to police after being assaulted by a mob in Dhaka’s Uttara area. A group reportedly stormed his residence, forcibly brought him outside, and placed a garland of shoes around his neck. Footage of the incident went viral on social media.

Following the incident, police stated that Huda had been shown arrested in connection with a case filed by the BNP.

Earlier on Sunday morning, the BNP lodged a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station against the Election Commissions that oversaw the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections. The case named former CECs Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, KM Nurul Huda, and Kazi Habibul Awal, among others.

The complaint was filed by Salah Uddin Khan, a member of the BNP’s National Executive Committee and coordinator of the party’s cell on lawsuits, enforced disappearances, killings, and information preservation.

The case names 24 individuals as accused, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the three former chief election commissioners.

KM Nurul Huda served as the Chief Election Commissioner during the 11th parliamentary election in December 2018, which was widely criticized over allegations of ballot-stuffing the night before the vote—an episode commonly referred to as the “night-time vote.”