Arrest of ex-CEC Nurul Huda: Facts vs alternative facts

On the evening of 22 June 2025, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda was held by a mob and then taken into police custody. A viral video captured the scene: Huda, dressed in a lungi and white T-shirt, was dragged from his home, slapped repeatedly with shoes, and humiliated with a garland of shoes placed around his neck. 

This occurred hours after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) filed a case against Huda and other election officials for alleged misconduct during the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections. Nurul Huda was the CEC during the infamous 2018 national election, also known as the 'Midnight Election'.

The incident ignited a wave of condemnation against the government, law enforcement, and the mob, raising critical questions about justice, accountability, and the rule of law in the country. The civil society, political parties and human rights activists were quick to protest. 

The next day, Huda was shown as arrested by the police, continuing the old tradition of twisting the narrative. 

While the government acknowledged the mob's role in Huda's detention and condemned the assault, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) press release on 23 June omitted any mention of the mob incident. Instead, it framed Huda's arrest as the result of a "special drive" to apprehend him, presenting it as a routine police operation. 

The interim government, via a statement on the Chief Adviser's Facebook page, acknowledged the "chaotic situation" caused by the mob and condemned the assault, stating that "physically assaulting an accused person is illegal" and violates the rule of law. 

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury reinforced this, denouncing mob justice and announcing an investigation into the incident, including potential law enforcement involvement. 

Even BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said that the party does not endorse mob culture and will take disciplinary action if any of its activists are found involved in the incident. 

The DMP's failure to acknowledge the mob's actions undermines the government's narrative of opposing mob violence. While the government promised legal action against those responsible and instructed law enforcement to identify culprits, the DMP's sanitised account undermines this commitment. 

By framing Huda's arrest as a planned police operation, the DMP downplays the extrajudicial violence, potentially signalling tolerance for such acts. This discrepancy also suggests a lack of coordination or accountability within state institutions.

Rights organisations, including Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) and the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh, criticised the government's response as inadequate. ASK noted that between January and June 2025, at least 83 people were killed in mob violence, reflecting a growing culture of lawlessness. The organisation warned that the government's inaction could imply complicity, eroding public trust in legal institutions. 

The Human Rights Forum demanded transparency on actions taken against the mob, emphasising that such violence violates constitutional rights under Articles 31, 32 and 35.

Articles 31 and 32 emphasise that every citizen and person within the country has an inalienable right to legal protection and treatment solely according to the law. It prohibits any actions that harm a person's life, liberty, body, reputation, or property unless they are legally justified. Additionally, it ensures that no one can be deprived of life or personal liberty except through lawful processes. Article 35 ensures that no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.

The assault on former CEC KM Nurul Huda and the subsequent disparity of facts between the DMP and the government show the urgent need to address the rising tide of mob justice, which threatens to dismantle the rule of law and democratic norms. 

While the government's condemnation and the army's arrests of mob leaders are steps in the right direction, the DMP's failure to acknowledge the mob's role reveals a dangerous gap in accountability. Only by confronting mob violence head-on can Bangladesh hope to reclaim its path toward lawful governance and a just society. It is hopeful to see the army taking prompt action against the mob. However, we need more conviction from the police as well.