Independent candidate for Gaibandha-3 found unconscious in Rangpur

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Rangpur, January 16: Police rescued independent parliamentary candidate for Gaibandha-3 constituency Azizar Rahman in an unconscious state from Rangpur city on Friday evening.

Azizar Rahman was found around 7:30pm at Modern Mor in the city, police said. He is an independent candidate for the Gaibandha-3 (Palashbari–Sadullapur) seat and had recently travelled to Dhaka to attend an appeal hearing after his nomination papers were initially cancelled. He was returning home by bus after regaining his candidature.

Tajhat Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ataur Rahman said police rushed to the spot after receiving information that a man was lying unconscious on the road at Modern Mor. Azizar Rahman was rescued and later regained consciousness.

During preliminary questioning, Azizar Rahman told police that he boarded a bus in Dhaka on Thursday night to return home. A person known to him was travelling with him and offered him eggs to eat during the journey. Shortly afterwards, he lost consciousness and could not recall what happened next.

Police later said he was travelling from Dhaka to Gaibandha on a Pinky Enterprise bus when members of a suspected drugging gang allegedly fed him eggs laced with sedatives. After he became unconscious, the gang reportedly dropped him off at Modern Mor in Rangpur and fled with his cash and mobile phone.

The OC said Azizar Rahman has been taken to the police station. Since a general diary (GD) had been filed at Sadullapur Police Station following reports of his disappearance, he will be handed over to that police station once their team arrives.

Azizar Rahman said he regained consciousness at the police station and could only recall travelling with a person named Shahin before losing consciousness. - UNB