Power supply to Khaleda’s office stopped
Power supply to Khaleda’s office stopped
Steps come hours after shipping minister’s threat
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) has stopped power supply to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka in the early hours of today.
Almost simultaneously, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested BNP’s joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed from a Baridhara residence at 2:45am.
Rizvi has been playing vital role in the BNP-led 20-party opposition’s ongoing anti-government movement that started on January 6 through countrywide nonstop blockade.
He is believed to have the blessings of Khaleda’s elder son Tarique Rahman, who has been staying in London since late 2008, in taking policy-level decision currently with number of key BNP leaders including the party’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir either in the jail or on the run.
Acting as the party’s spokesperson, Rizvi has been announcing most of the vital decisions of 20-party alliance’s ongoing nonstop blockade through media release since January 6.
About stopping the power supply, Moksed Ali, a lineman of Desco told reporters that he cut BNP chief’s political office’s power line at around 2:42am on instruction from top authorities of Gulshan police. Moksed declined to elaborate further.
Around 4:00am, staff at the office started a generator, Shamsuddin Didar, a staff of BNP chairperson’s media wing, told The Daily Star.
The actions came 11 hours after Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan threatened that water and electricity lines of Khaleda’s office will be disconnected if she did not withdraw blockade by February 2.
On information, reporters rushed to Khaleda’s office and saw total darkness at Khaleda’s Gulshan office where she has been staying since January 3.
A number of police vans, sand, bricks, cement carrying trucks, a water cannon and additional number of police were deployed in front of Khaleda’s office since January 3 midnight in a bid to confine her there.
Police however removed all the barriers and withdrew additional law enforcers on January 18. Khaleda however opted to remain at her office.