BNP's Cox's Bazar-4 candidate receives death threat

COX'S BAZAR, Jan 04 (UNB): BNP candidate for Cox's Bazar-4 (Ukhia-Teknaf) constituency and district BNP president Shahjahan Chowdhury has alleged that he received a death threat on Sunday morning.

Shahjahan Chowdhury said anonymous individuals identifying themselves as 'Battalion-71', "Battalion-71" sent a threatening letter to his residence, accompanied by a small piece of white cloth symbolising a burial shroud.

He later filed a General Diary (GD) with Ukhia Police Station over the incident.

In the GD, Shahjahan Chowdhury said that at around 09:00am, a peon from the Ukhia post office delivered a letter addressed to him from unknown sender(s).

Upon opening the envelope, he found threatening and intimidating statements along with a piece of white cloth, which he interpreted as a shroud.

The letter reportedly warned him to refrain from participating in the upcoming national election, stating that otherwise his fate would be similar to that of Sharif Osman Hadi.

It also claimed that he was under 24-hour surveillance by a "killing squad" of Battalion-71.

The letter ended with the name "Mominul Alam, Regional Coordinator, Battalion-71, Cox's Bazar."

He said BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman spoke to him over the phone and reassured him, asking him not to be afraid.