Country's main opposition BNP has claimed that the party has incurred losses of Tk 50.82 lakh due to damage and loot of property at its central office at Naya Paltan in the capital on December 7 last, two days before the party's mass rally in Dhaka.  

Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a member of the BNP standing committee, made the claim at a press conference held on Sunday at the office of the party's chairperson's Gulshan political office.

"The damaged property and subsquent looting caused losses amounting to Tk 50,82,500," he said.

Mosharraf said, "As per the directives of the unelected government, terrorsists under the patronisation of police started vandalism entering the BNP central office at Naya Paltan on December 7 last.

The BNP leader said before conducting raids into a home or office, unbiased witnesses and the owner must be present. The police force and goons of the unelected government showed BNP members merciless cruelty and barbarism, which has exposed the government's undemocratic, authoritarian and anti-people tendencies, and it disgraced the month of victory," he said.

Khondker Mosharraf said laptops, computer hard discs, documents, bank documents and cash were looted from the office by police.

Even a mural of BNP's founder Late President Ziaur Rahman and CCTV cameras were damaged, he said.

He said, "According to the police, BNP leaders and workers attacked them with rocks, stones, bamboo sticks and cocktails. The people do not buy the ridiculous claims that they attacked hundreds of thousands of police officers with bricks, stones, bamboo sticks and cocktails while they brandished enormous and lethal contemporary weapons.

"As per the police statement, police used 179 teargas canisters, 460 shotgun rounds and 6 sound bombs in total. In reality, the numbers are much higher."

Along with the withdrawal of all cases against the party's detained leaders and workers, Mosharraf also demanded immediate and unconditional release of the party's secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas.

At the press conference, BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Selima Rahman, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and others were present.