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Police consider criminal inquiry into Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman
প্রকাশ করেছেন: নিউজ ডেস্ক | তারিখ: এপ্রিল ২৪, ২০১৫ ৫:২৫ পূর্বাহ্ন | বিভাগ: সিসিনিউজ | |
Police are considering launching a criminal inquiry into former Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman who was kicked out from office on Thursday after being found guilty of corruption and illegal practices during the polls.
in a statement immediately after the court order, the force said it had noted the judgment and will consider the 200-page report of their investigation into allegations of electoral fraud and corruption against Rahman last April. They had found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
They would require approval to launch the inquiry from the Crown Prosecution Service under the UK system.
The results of his re-election as mayor of the east London borough in 2014 was declared ‘void’ by Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey, who sat as a judge in the special High Court hearing.
The Bangladesh-born politician was banned from contesting any more elections and ordered to vacate his post immediately.
The court also slapped a £250,000-fine on Lutfur and convicted Alibor Choudhury, his Cabinet Member for Resources, of illegal practices.
Rahman’s party ‘Tower Hamlets First’ told the BBC they were seeking legal advice for a judicial review against the ‘shocking’ judgment.
The election commissioner, however, said Tower Hamlets First was “never really a party but the alter ego of Lutfur Rahman”.
An independent social democrat, Rahman was elected in last year’s May by a margin of 3,000 votes.
He was dragged to court by four voters who accused him of running a systematic campaign of intimidation.
Rahman was also accused of bribing religious groups, tempering with ballot papers, fraud in postal voting and also at polling stations.
The group of voters led by Andy Erlam filed a 70-page dossier in August last year.
Rahman massively breached election rules and ‘didn’t care’, said Election Commissioner Mawrey.
He played the “race” and “religious” cards to gain ground against Labour Party rival John Biggs, said Election Commissioner Mawrey to outline his conclusion.
The first Muslim elected mayor in Britain ran a “ruthless and dishonest campaign to convince electorate his rival Biggs was a racist”.
Tower Hamlets has the largest concentration of Bangladeshis in the UK, a total of 32 percent.