Govt goes tough on opposition

BNP standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Rafiqul Islam Miah were arrested yesterday, hours after the party-led opposition alliance announced a 72-hour countrywide hartal from tomorrow.
Detectives made the arrests as the trio came out of Hotel Sonargaon around 8:00pm attending the anniversary celebration of Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
Law enforcers also detained BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo and Special Assistant Shimul Biswas outside her Gulshan-2 home around 1:10am and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Vice-President Anwar Hossain Tipu  in front of Jatiya Press Club around 12:15am today.
The detained were taken to the DB headquarters.
"They were arrested on specific allegations," State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku told The Daily Star. He, however, did not say what the allegations were.
Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu said the opposition leaders were arrested for instigating attacks on people and their properties.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi holding a press conference said the 72-hour hartal starting form tomorrow would be extended if the detained leaders were not released immediately.
He claimed that the arrests were made as part of the government plot to hold a one-party election.
Police last night also raided the homes of BNP leaders Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Abdul Mannan and Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Moazzem Hossain Alal, and Nasiruddin Ashim.
After the arrests, BNP-Jamaat activists vandalised and torched vehicles in the capital, Chittagong and in Noakhali.

"> Police arrest BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo, left photo, and her special assistant Shimul Biswas, right, early today in front of the opposition leader's Gulshan home. Photo: Amran Hossain 

At least 25 vehicles were damaged and seven others burned at Barab Kunda, Kumira and Sitakunda of Chittagong around 10:45pm, reports our correspondent there.
The agitating BNP-Jamaat activists also blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong highway between Sitakunda and Faujdarhat, leaving many vehicles stranded.
Around 11:15pm, police fired several bullets to disperse the agitating BNP-Jamaat men. But the agitators were fighting back.
In the capital, BNP-Jamaat men vandalised three buses -- one at Mirpur-12, one near Sonargaon intersection and another at Arambagh around 11:15pm.
Unidentified criminals exploded two crude bombs at the home of BNP Joint Secretary General Mohammad Shahjahan at Rashid Colony area in Noakhali around 12:30am, reports our correspondent.
Local BNP called a dawn-to-dusk hartal for today in Noakhali's Companyganj and Kabirhat upazilas, the parliamentary constituency of Moudud, and in Comilla's Homna upazila, the constituency of MK Anwar.
The opposition also called hartal in Bhola and Pallabi of Mirpur for today.
The arrests panicked people in the capital and elsewhere. Many politicians and citizens called The Daily Star to know what was going on.
There has been a huge deployment of police force near the BNP headquarters in Nayapaltan since 5:00pm yesterday.
Earlier in the evening, over 50 policemen stood guard at the Gulshan office and home of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
State Minister Tuku said Dhaka Metropolitan Police deployed forces at Khaleda's home and her Gulshan office for the sake of her own security.
"Khaleda might fall victim to revenge, as her men had attacked the homes of several law makers and ministers," he said, adding that the government took the step to protect her from people's wrath.
Many senior AL leaders and ministers kept mum over the arrest of the top BNP leaders.
But according to some AL and government insiders, more BNP-Jamaat-led 18-party leaders would be arrested following a list made after assessing the two spells of hartal violence over the last two weeks. The whole process is being coordinated by Home Minister MK Alamgir.
AL Organising Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim told The Daily Star, “Law enforcement agencies will explain why the opposition leaders have been arrested.
“But we want to say that those involved in subversive activities like arson, bomb attacks and vandalism in the name of hartal will be resisted with an iron fist.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last night held a meeting with a few ministers and advisers immediately after the arrest of the three senior BNP leaders.
But details of the meeting could not be known immediately.
A homemade bomb went off in front of the AL President's political office around 9:15pm. Some mid-ranking leaders of the AL were present at the office then.