Govt unleashed attacks, violence to foil BNP rally: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday alleged that the government foiled their party's grand rally at Nayapaltan through planned attacks after failing to prevent lakhs of people from joining the programme.

In a statement, he said, "The planned violence and armed attacks by the police and Awami League cadres on the pre-announced peaceful grand rally of the BNP are unprecedented and despicable."

The BNP leader also said the armed and bloody attacks on their programme were a reflection of what the Awami League leaders and the police have said since the announcement of the rally.

He said the government could not stop the rally by stopping the buses, trains, and launches.

"When they [the government] saw lakhs of people join the grand rally, braving the obstacles, they attacked our programme in a planned way and foiled it. The government made a complete master plan and attacked the BNP rally in fear of losing power," he observed.

Fakhrul said the ruling party leaders' announcement to resist the BNP's rally with sticks and police officers' threats of attack and mass arrest had been implemented yesterday.

He claimed that police and Awami "cadres" attacked the BNP followers with sticks and weapons as the crowd of the rally reached Kakrail Mosque.

"They [police] came to the party office at Nayapaltan by firing rubber bullets and lobbing tear gas shells. Senior leaders on stage were also fatally injured in police firing and tear gas shells," the BNP leader said.

He claimed that Mugda Thana unit Jubo Dal leader Shamim Mollah was killed in police firing during the attacks on their rally.

Besides, the BNP leader said over 1,000 other opposition leaders and workers were shot and seriously injured.

He said the injured opposition leaders and workers were undergoing treatment in different hospitals in the capital.

The BNP leader also claimed that more than three hundred of their party leaders and followers have been arrested since yesterday.

In the last few days, he said the police arrested more than 2,000 BNP leaders and activists centring the grand rally.

Fakhrul strongly condemned and protested against the attacks by police and the ruling party "cadres" on the BNP rally and demanded the release of those arrested.

He called upon the country's people to make the dawn-to-dusk hartal today a complete success.