Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain on Wednesday said that he would quit politics if any journalist could prove that top-listed criminal Wakil Hossain alias Boga left in his car.
He added that he would file a case against those responsible if such false claims were made against him.
The CCC mayor made the remarks in response to a police raid at the city corporation building on Tuesday night to arrest listed criminal Boga and allegations that he had helped the accused leave the premises in his official vehicle.
He said, “Chattogram City Corporation is not my home. It belongs to people from all walks of life in Chattogram. People will come here. Anyone can come with their complaints. If someone comes with complaints X, Y or Z and is a wanted accused, it is the police’s responsibility to arrest him.”
“No one comes to the city corporation by air. People come here either by car or on foot. If a wanted accused comes to the city corporation building, it is also the police’s responsibility to arrest him,” he added.
“I have repeatedly said that the city corporation belongs to everyone. Its doors are open to all. I am not the mayor of any particular party or group. I am the mayor of the people of Bangladesh and all the people of Chattogram. People from many parties and with different views come here,” he also said.
Referring to Boga as his political follower, the mayor said, “Boga is not an Awami League terrorist. He has been involved in movements for the past 17-18 years. He was also a fighter during the July-August uprising. Over the past 17 years, the Awami League has filed 70-80 cases against him.”
He also questioned the role of Khulshi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdur Rahim, who served at Bakalia Police Station during the Awami League government. He questioned how an OC from that period became in charge of Khulshi Police Station now.
The mayor alleged that no Awami League, Chhatra League or Jubo League leader had been arrested since the OC joined Khulshi Police Station. He claimed that the operation was being conducted deliberately after Boga’s brothers came to lodge complaints against the OC.
He alleged that police were trying to implicate Boga and his brothers in the recent killing of a teenager named Hridoy in Khulshi.
“The OC and his SI beat Kamrul, the accused in Hridoy’s murder, and forced him to name Boga and his brothers. They then filed a case against them,” he added.
Mayor Shahadat claimed that Boga’s two brothers had come to him with complaints about the matter. A witness named Khorshed had made the same claim. The complainant in the case had said that they had never identified Kamrul as an associate of Boga, he added.
Regarding the allegation that he had taken Boga away in his car, the mayor said he left his office and got into his car in front of everyone. He also said there were CCTV cameras in the area.
“When I left my office and got into my car, there were CCTV cameras there. I did not get into the car secretly. I got in in front of everyone. No journalist even has a picture of Boga. I want to tell the journalists, who do not even have registration, that they must stop this kind of journalism and tell the truth,” he said.
He added, “They have to prove that he (Boga) was in my car when I got into it. If they cannot prove it, a case will be filed against them.”
The mayor claimed that no one had taken shelter in his office. Boga’s brother had come there. Even if Boga had come, he said, it was the police’s responsibility to arrest him.
“I think this was done deliberately. My election is ahead. The OC is doing all this in a biased manner in collusion with those who are conspiring against me,” the mayor alleged.
He also referred to an incident during the Awami League government. He claimed that the same OC had taken away a large cooking pot used for a mezban organised to mark the death anniversary of former president Ziaur Rahman.
All these actions were aimed at damaging his “good image” ahead of the election, Mayor Shahadat said.
Police on Tuesday night raided the Chattogram City Corporation building to arrest Boga, who is a top-listed criminal and one of the alleged controllers of teen gangs. However, police did not find him during the raid.
Police took positions around the city corporation building at around 9pm on Tuesday. Law enforcement authorities said the operation was conducted based on information that Boga was inside the building.
When journalists went to the site to cover the operation, the mayor, in a video that circulated online, was heard saying, “We did not inform anyone, so why have you come? Why are you coming?”
