The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

The information submitted by the candidates of Barisal City Corporation Election with affidavit differs from the reality.

According to the election rules and court verdicts every candidate has to give information about educational qualification, profession, source of income, wealth and assets of them and their spouses, records of financial loans and credits and criminal cases.

EC sources said that except the wealth and asset information, other facts of the candidates would be hoisted in web pages of the EC.

If any false, misinformation, conceal of facts submitted by the candidate and later proved in investigation, hard action including cancellation of candidature and election result may be taken by EC.

However after collecting facts from reliable sources of EC about the 10 contesting mayor candidates of the city it was revealed that Sarfuddin Santu of PDP with Umbrella symbol was the richest and CPB leader A K Azad with Rickshaw symbols was the poorest Mayor candidate.

Santu has educational qualification of SSC and total personal and family wealth and movable and immovable assets valued 3.79 core taka including five houses.

He disclosed that at present he is not connected with any income generating profession and maximum portion of the assists including four houses belongs to his wife. He has neither loan, nor accused in any criminal case.

However Santu has not any loan or accused in any criminal case. But he leading very posh life has personal helipad in his village and built a college and masjid complex by spending cores of taka and always propagated himself as a 'Daan Bir' (great donor).

Abul Kalam Azad, district CPB secretary has graduation degree and 72-thousand taka yearly income by private tuition and has movable and immovable assets worth Tk.75 thousand and leads very simple life.

Azad has no loan, or accused in any criminal case.

Advocate Shawkat Hossain Hiron, city AL convener and 14 party alliance nominated Mayor candidate with Television symbols declared that he has bachelor degree with law and has yearly income of 6.10 lakhs taka from Planet World, the only children amusement park, South King, the largest Chinese restaurant and a diagnostic center of the city.

He has movable and immovable assets worth Tk. 18.8 lakhs and has two core taka bank loans in the name of his wife.

Hiron accussed in two criminal cases of cheating, extortion and threatening.

Advocate Enayet Pir Khan, a senior criminal lawyer, has education qualification with LLB degree and yearly income of Tk.2.80 lakhs taka.

Pir has movable and immovable assets worth Tk. 42.8 lakhs with a building and without any bank loan or accused in any criminal case.

Ahsan Habib Kamal, expelled city BNP president with Clock symbol has served 18 years in Barisal City Corporation and municipality as commissioner, chairman, administrator and Mayor.

He has educational qualification of higher secondary level and shown yearly income of only Tk.2 lakhs from a fish and poultry feed production farm and movable and immovable assets of his, his college teacher wife and family members as Tk.1.12 core. He has a revolver and a shotgun and acquitted from six out of seven cases including murder, extortion and other offences.

However the four storied building constructed by Kamal cost more than two crore taka and also has luxurious cars and other hidden assets leading posh lives.

Ebaidul Huq Chan, president of Barisal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and direct FBCCI, has HSC level educational qualification and owned two cinema halls, two restaurants and coffee house, ice factory, hajj and travel agency and other business.

He has shown only Tk.2.9 lakhs as yearly income and immovable and movable properties worth Tk.31.5 lakhs. He was accused in four cases including murder and three of those case still under trial and acquitted from another case.

However he has luxurious cars and house, different types of huge income generating business amounting many folds of income than shown facts.

Advocate Kabiruddin Hannu, former ward commissioner and mayor candidate with Pineapple symbol, has bachelor and law degree with yearly income of Tk.4.6 lakhs. He has movable and immovable properties worth Tk. 77.5 lakhs.

Hannu is defamed for his land grabbing and terrorist activities and accused in more than half dozen cases including attack on journalist, but acquitted from all as no body dared to give witness against him. Besides Syed Abdullah Shahid, retired joint district judge, contesting for mayor post with Chair symbol has movable and immovable properties worth Tk. 19 lakhs with educational qualification of masters degree with law.

He has no loan and not accused in any criminal case. The other two mayor candidates named Rafikul Islam Russel with Telephone symbol, a businessman and Advocate Zahirul Huq with Pen-Inkpot symbol, a legal practitioner, were unknown to city dwellers and apprehended as dummy candidates of certain corners.