Expressing deep resentment over the government's move they said if there were any evidence of criminal activities against Hasina, she should be tried under conventional laws.

Nirmol Sen, general secretary of Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal (SKSD) in a statement said, "Arrest of Hasina is not part of the government's efforts to curb corruption, it has a political agenda."

Deputy Publicity Secretary of Dhaka City AL Nayeem Moman in his statement said, "Arrest of Hasina in a false case has put democracy of the country and the role of the caretaker government under question."

Ekattorer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee, South Asian Peoples Union Against Fundamentalism and Communalism in a joint statement said, "If there was any evidence of criminal activities against Sheikh Hasina, she could be tried under conventional laws." Prof Kabir Chowdhury, Hena Das, Kalim Sharafi, Prof Muhammad Jafar Iqbal and 41 other eminent personalities also signed the statement.

Col (retd) Shawkat Ali, Dr Alauddin Ahmed, Hemayet Uddin Birprotik and 20 others under the banner of Muktijoddha Oikya Parishad demanded immediate release of Hasina.

Meanwhile, 75 lawyers of Rajshahi court in a statement protested the arrest of AL chief Hasina and demanded her release.

Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, Bangladesh Krishak League, Bangladesh Awami Jubo Ainjibi Parishad, Bangladesh Islami Oikya Jote, Sammilito Sangskritik Jote of Rajshahi district unit, Muktijoddha Phathagar, Joy Bangla Sangskritik Jote, Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad also criticised Hasina's arrest through separate statements.

Our correspondents in Rajshahi, Gazipur and Thakurgaon said AL and its front organisations brought out processions in those districts yesterday. They chanted slogans against the government and demanded immediate release of Hasina.

A group of Jubo League activists Monday night vandalised vehicles on Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway in front of Natore NS Government College in protest against the arrest of Hasina.

Meanwhile, AL Mymensingh district unit condemned the arrest of Hasina. In a statement, its president former AL lawmaker Matiur Rahman and secretary Abdul Matin protested the arrest of Hasina and demanded her immediate release.

In a separate statement, vice-presidents of district AL Mujibur Rahman Milki and Nazim Uddin Ahmed also demanded the release of Hasina in the greater interest of the country.