Police protection withdrawn from Khaleda residence: BNP

Authorities on Wednesday withdrew police protection from the Gulshan residence of imprisoned former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia, claims her press wing officer Shamsuddin Didar.

Didar said the policemen were withdrawn around 3:30pm.

“Three constables, led by assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Md Jafar, had been ensuring securities to Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan residence, Firoza, for a long time. Today [Wednesday] they were withdrawn,” he said.

Gulshan police station officer-in-charge Abu Bakar Siddik told Prothom Alo that he knew nothing about the withdrawal of police protection from Khaleda Zia’s residence.

He further said Gulshan’s diplomatic zone police look after the matter.

Rebutting the OC’s words, a high official at Gulshan’s diplomatic zone police said their duty is to ensure securities to all the diplomats in the diplomatic zone.

"We [Gulshan’s diplomatic zone police] do not look after the security of Khaleda Zia’s residence," he added.

On 8 February, a special court in Dhaka convicted Khaleda Zia and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in the much-talked-about Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

She was then sent to the dilapidated old central jail on Nazimuddin Road in the capital.