BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and its standing committee member Mirza Abbas have been shown arrested in a case filed over Wednesday's Nayapaltan clash between police and leaders and activists of the party.
Detective Branch (DB) chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Harun-or-Rashid confirmed the matter on Friday afternoon.
He said, "We arrested BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas as the guides of Wednesday's incident after interrogation."
Earlier, BNP’s Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said that a team of the DB went to Fakhrul’s Uttara house at the dead of night and picked him up around 3:00 am.
He said another team of the DB police raided the house of Abbas at the same time and picked him up from his Shahjahanpur home in Dhaka.
Later in the morning, DB chief Harun said the two leaders of BNP detained for interrogation.
On Thursday night, a BNP delegation had a six-hour meeting with the DMP commissioner where they talked about holding the rally on Saturday (December 10) either at Kamalapur Stadium or Mirpur Bangla College ground.
Later, Abbas with some BNP leaders visited the two venues.
At that meeting, police authorities assured of reopening BNP office at Nayapaltan.
On Wednesday, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.
Following the clash, police raided the BNP office and arrested around 300 party leaders and activists from there.
While an understanding was reached apparently between the government and the BNP over the rally following the BNP leaders’ meeting with the DMP authorities, taking away of two top leaders of the party has manifested the government’s tough stance against BNP, which is desperate to reinforce its anti-government movement ahead of next general elections.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has warned of tough action against any anarchy in the name of anti-government movement.
Talking to media, some BNP leaders expressed their fear that the government may arrest more senior party leaders to halt the planned rally on Saturday.
On Thursday, a Dhaka court sent 445 BNP leaders and activists to jail in two cases filed over Wednesday’s violence.
Party’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam and Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie were among the top leaders who were sent to jail, pending further legal procedures.
