House belonging to Qassan’s witness destroyed in fire

The house of the witness, who gave evidence to support former President’s son Qassan Maumoon in High Court yesterday, has been destroyed in a fire that broke out 2130 hours last night. Qassan’s witness, Usha Rasheed lives in a house called Ummeedh in Thimarafushi along with her husband. Maldives Police have said that there were casualties and that fire was extinguished quickly by police officers with the help of the islanders. Even though it is not determined whether the fire broke out due to a deliberate act aimed at destroying the house or accidental caused by electrical shortage, Qassan’s campaign office have claimed that the house was deliberately torched and that it was well planned. In a statement issued early this morning Qassan’s campaign office condemned the act in strong words and revealed that prior to incident Usha Rasheed , Qassan’s witness, received telephone warnings and threats. The statement further called on to bring an immediate end to all such acts. “We are monitoring the condition of the people who suffered ,we have reported the matter to the police and asked them to a make special effort in protecting the safety of the other 6 witnesses who gave evidence in court today as well as for the safety of all people of the Thimarafushi” the statement read. The statement also called on Police to apprehend the people responsible for the act and to bring them to justice. Qassan Maumoon, submitted witness statements to High Court yesterday to support his claim that the vote in the recent parliamentary elections had been rigged against him. Qassan , DRP candidate who contested the Thimarafushi constituency filed his case in court last week, appealing for the annulment of the elections result for Thaa atoll Thimarafushi constituency and take a fresh vote. Last week, Elections Commission announced the final results of all constituencies except Thimarafushi after a High Court ruling ordered the commission to postpone announcing the constituency’s results pending conclusion of the case. Election Commission member Fuad Thoufeeq has said he believed the problems reported in the constituency would not any impact on the overall result; he confirmed 115 missing ballot papers from the ballot box were blank.