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A post on the personal Facebook page of Mohammad Mofazzar Hossain, chief of Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station, wishing success to three candidates from the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election has drawn widespread backlash.
The post was made on Mozaffar's Facebook account around 2 am on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
Netizens immediately began discussing and criticising the post, with many questioning whether a government official is allowed to make an open statement in support of a political faction.
Amidst the controversy, the police officer wrote on his Facebook profile at 11:30 am on Tuesday: "Vultures' eyes have fallen on my ID. There is an attempt to hack it."
Later, he told journalists that his Facebook ID had been hacked. The post could no longer be found on the account as of Tuesday afternoon.
Abidul Islam Abid is the vice president (VP) candidate on ballot No. 21, Shaikh Tanvir Baree Hamim is the general secretary (GS) candidate on ballot No. 17, and Thanbir Al Hadi Moyed is the assistant general secretary (AGS) candidate on ballot No. 8 from the Chhatra Dal-backed panel in the DUCSU polls.
A photo card with the message "Best wishes to 21, 17, and 8" was shared from Mozaffar's Facebook account in the middle of the night. The caption read, "Best wishes for the meritorious”.
Leaders and activists from various political parties, and members of the public have expressed their disapproval in response to the post.
A man named Khairul Sarkar shared the post from the OC's Facebook page to protest it.
Asaduzzaman Khokon, a member of the National Citizen Party's (NCP) Brahmanbaria district committee, shared a screenshot of the post and captioned it: "This is the situation in the DUCSU election! What will happen in the national election?"
In protest, Mohammad Ataullah, a senior joint principal organiser of the NCP's central committee, wrote: "The OC of Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station is campaigning for the Chhatra Dal in the DUCSU election. How can a police OC campaign for a political party?"
Journalist Mozzamel Haque shared a screenshot of the post and wrote: "According to the law, political activities or public expression of support by government employees is completely prohibited."
He believes that political neutrality is expected from an OC, and he cannot avoid accountability by using hacking as an excuse.
He added that if the OC's ID was indeed hacked, the responsibility to prove it also falls on him.