21 BNP men held in Sylhet in a day
Twenty-one leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and associate wings were arrested by police from different upazilas in Sylhet on Sunday.
BNP leaders allege that law enforcers started the arrest spree to spread fear among leaders and activists so that they do not attend BNP’s Sylhet divisional rally today.
The rally is scheduled to start at 2pm at Sylhet Registry Office field at Bandarbazar area in the city, where BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is scheduled to attend as chief guest.
Among the twenty-one detainees, five were arrested in Zakiganj, six in Golapganj, four in Fenchuganj, one in Bishwanath and five in Osmaninagar upazilas.
BNP’s Zakiganj upazila unit general secretary Shafiqur Rahman, Golapganj upazila unit acting general secretary Noman Uddin Murad, organizing secretary Maniruzzaman Uzzal, Fenchuganj upazila JCD joint convenor Mehedi Hasan Rafi are among the arrestees.
Contacting officers-in-charge of the police stations, this correspondent confirmed that they were arrested either as suspects and shown arrested in different cases, or during processions in support of the divisional rally.
Ali Ahmed, general secretary of Sylhet district unit of BNP, said, “The spate of arrests is rising, and we fear that more leaders will be arrested before the rally so that they could cause fear among leaders.”
“But we are trying to unite all leaders and activists in Sylhet division so that the rally becomes a successful one to raise our demand of freeing our chairperson,” he said.
However, police denied the allegation that the arrests were made surrounding the rally.
Aminul Islam, additional deputy commissioner (media) of Sylhet District Police, said, “These arrests were made as regular process and it is in no way connected to spread fear ahead of BNP’s rally.”
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