Fakhrul arrested
A day after filing a case against him in connection with Sunday's violence, police yesterday arrested BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, when he was leaving the party's Nayapaltan office in the evening.
Police yesterday also arrested 30 BNP activists from in front of the party office in the capital. Following Sunday's violence, a huge number of police and Rab personnel were deployed in front of BNP office yesterday.
The arrests were made at a time when the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance is set to observe countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal today. The strike was called Sunday night in protest of the cases filed against and the arrests of opposition leaders and activists.
At least 38 cases have been filed with different police stations in the capital alone in connection with arson, vandalism and rampage during Sunday's road blockade by the opposition alliance.
Cases have also been filed in many other districts including Chapainawabganj, Bogra, Madaripur, Jhenidah, Chandpur, Tangail and Narayanganj. More than 3,000 opposition leaders and activists were made accused in the cases.
Due to the hartal, today's all examinations under National University and the ongoing school final examinations across the country have been postponed.
Meanwhile, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia last night demanded immediate release of her party's acting secretary general.
In a statement she said, “He [Fakhrul] was arrested just before his meeting with US foreign ministry official Robert Blake. I am strongly protesting and condemning this heinous act of the government.â€
She urged people to be vocal to realise their rights and protest the government's misdeeds in this month of victory. “The victory of people is inevitable and so close,†added Khaleda.
She also urged the government not to push the country towards chaos.
The opposition alliance also postponed its yesterday's scheduled protest rally as it did not get permission from the law enforcement authorities.
After the arrest of Fakhrul, BNP joint secretaries general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Aman Ullah Aman in an emergency press briefing warned the government of non-stop hartal if the party's acting secretary general is not released without further delay.
During the present government's tenure, Fakhrul was first sent to jail on May 15 this year in an arson case.
Meanwhile, BNP-Jamaat activists yesterday vandalised two buses and set fire to 15 vehicles, mostly buses, in the capital. Of them three were set ablaze in Mirpur, four in Uttara, two in Agargaon, one each in Farmgate, Old Dhaka, Panthapath, Khilgaon, Sabujbagh and in front of Dhaka City Corporation (south) building in Phulbaria, said officials of the police and fire departments.
Two more buses were set on fire in Shib Bari bus stand and Gazipur while four buses were reported to be set ablaze in Lalmonirhat district.
Police said a group of youths vandalised two buses in Bijoynagar area around 3:15pm. The attackers fled as soon as a police patrol team reached the spot.
Opposition supporters set a microbus on fire at Khilgaon intersection in the capital around 6:15pm while a bus in front of Mirpur Bangla College around 6:25pm. In both the incidents, locals doused the fire.
No one has been reported arrested or injured in the violence.
Two cocktails were also exploded yesterday afternoon in front of the BNP party office in Nayapaltan.
BNP men brought out protest processions in the capital and in many districts, including Kushtia, Barisal and Mymensingh, soon after the news of Fakhrul's arrest had spread.
A few hours before his arrest, Mirza Fakhrul told reporters that since assuming the office, the government had been filing cases against the opposition men to subdue the movement. “But it [govt] will fail and have to abide by the demand of restoring the caretaker government system,†he added.
Fakhrul said they would bring out processions in every area of the capital instead of rallies. He also urged people to make today's hartal successful.
Party leaders said Fakhrul had visited injured BNP leaders in different hospitals yesterday morning and then had gone to the party office.
Witnesses said at around 6:00pm when Fakhrul had come down to the ground floor to leave for the party chairperson's Gulshan office, law enforcers cordoned him. Plainclothes police and detectives took him on a microbus, the witnesses added.
Later, he was taken to the Detective Branch office on Mintoo Road.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has admitted to arresting the BNP acting secretary general. The Public Relation Department of DMP informed the media about it through mobile SMS (short message service).
Asked about the arrestees, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Motijheel zone Mehedi Hasan said they had picked up some people as they were trying to hold a rally without permission. “Besides, cocktails were exploded which was one of the reasons for the arrests,†he told reporters in front of the BNP office.
On Sunday night, a city corporation employee, Aynal, filed a case with Paltan Police Station against Mirza Fakhrul, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and 200 to 250 unnamed BNP men in connection with vandalising a vehicle of the city corporation during the road blockade.
The countrywide road blockade left two persons dead and witnessed fierce clashes, arson and vandalism.
The main opposition BNP on Sunday, after the blockade had ended, declared the hartal for today and the protest programme for yesterday.
According to the announcement, BNP started preparing for holding the protest rally since yesterday morning but was obstructed by police. The law enforcers seized their loud speakers and took position in front of the BNP office.
Our Munshiganj correspondent reports, the district will remain out of the purview of today's hartal, as on this day in 1971 the region was liberated from the then Pakistani occupation army. BNP district unit president made the announcement last night.
BLAKE CONCERNED
US foreign ministry official Robert Blake yesterday expressed concern over the arrest of Mirza Fakhrul at a meeting with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in her house last night.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena, Khaleda's advisers Riaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed, and BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury were also present in the meeting.
Shamsher Chowdury said Blake wanted to know about the reason behind Fakhrul's arrest and that BNP had given its version of the answer.
“The US believes that the next general election can be held through dialogues among all the political parties,†he said quoting Blake as saying.
In response, Khaleda said the government lacked the sincerity.
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