Faridpur Jubo Dal leaders demand arrest of former mayor Mahtab Ali ahead of local elections

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Faridpur Metropolitan Juba Dal President Benazir Ahmed has demanded the immediate arrest of former Faridpur mayor and Awami League leader Sheikh Mahtab Ali, citing his alleged involvement in corruption and money laundering. The demand was made during a rally at the city’s Janata Bank intersection on Monday following a celebratory procession organized by district and metropolitan Juba Dal units to mark the formation of the new Juba Dal central committee.

Addressing local law enforcement, Ahmed accused the administration of complacency regarding the activities of individuals he described as remnants of the ousted Awami League. He warned that Juba Dal members would actively resist the influence of such figures in upcoming local government elections, asserting that there is no place for the former mayor in Faridpur given the pending legal cases against him.

The rally, which followed a procession starting from Brahmasamaj Road, featured remarks from various local leaders, including Juba Dal district general secretary Jahangir Hossain and district BNP member secretary AKM Kibria Swapan. The political mobilization comes as Ahmed, who has openly declared his candidacy for the upcoming Faridpur mayoral election, seeks to consolidate his position against potential rivals.

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Sheikh Mahtab Ali, who served as mayor for 11 years, has been a central figure in local politics and is currently a defendant in a high-profile case involving the alleged laundering of 2.5 billion taka. Although he was previously a vice-president of the Faridpur city Awami League, he refrained from running in the 2020 municipal election due to the ongoing legal proceedings.

In response to the accusations, Ali told Prothom Alo that he is no longer affiliated with the Awami League, noting that the committee he once served on has long been dissolved. He dismissed the calls for his arrest as politically motivated, suggesting that his firm intention to contest the upcoming municipal election has caused unease among his opponents.