Body of BNP leader exhumed after 4 months

KHULNA, July 6: The body of Mahibuzzaman Kochi, former office secretary of the Khulna City unit of the BNP, who died at a polling station during the February 12 national election, has been exhumed four months after his burial for a post-mortem examination.

The exhumation follows a court case filed by another BNP leader accusing members of Jamaat-e-Islami of being responsible for Kochi's death.

The body was exhumed at around 11:30 am on Monday from Tutpara graveyard in Khulna in the presence of Executive Magistrate Najmus Sakib.

After an initial inquest, the remains were sent to the morgue of Khulna Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.

According to case, Kochi was serving as the election agent for BNP-backed candidate Nazrul Islam Manju at the Alia Kamil Madrasa polling centre in the Khulna-2 constituency during the parliamentary election on February 12.

At around 8 am, he reportedly protested after several individuals allegedly campaigned inside the polling centre and pressured voters to cast their ballots for the Scales election symbol of a Jamaat-backed candidate.

During the ensuing confrontation, members of the opposing political group allegedly pushed and physically assaulted him, causing him to fall to the ground. He later died.