Police implicate BNP men in attacks on Khaleda
The police have incriminated two former members of parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the attacks on their party chairperson Khaleda Zia in Feni earlier this week.
The police filed a case on Tuesday in connection with the attack on the convoy of the former prime minister on her way to Cox's Bazar.
The case statement shows the former BNP MPs were involved in the attack. The BNP blamed the ruling Awami League and its 'terrorists' for the attacks.
According to the police claim, the attacks on Khaleda resulted from a rivalry between two former MPs - Joynal Abedin aka VP Joynal and Rehena Aktar Ranu.
Mentioning the rivalry between the former MPs, the police accused some 25-30 unnamed people in the case filed with Feni Model police station.
The plaintiff, Feni’s district court police inspector AK Nazibul Islam, was in charge of looking after security measures in Feni during Khaleda’s visit.
At least 20 vehicles of Khaleda’s motorcade - mostly from various media houses - were vandalised and several newsmen were among the injured in the attack.
The police in the meantime accused local leaders of BNP’s student and youth wings - Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal - in a second attack on Khaleda’s motorcade during her way back from Cox’s Bazar.
Another case was filed with Feni sadar model police station on Wednesday for hurling petrol bombs on two parked buses while Khaleda’s motorcade was passing Feni’s Mahipal on Tuesday. The case accused activists of Chhatra Dal and Juba Dal.
A total of 65 activists, including Feni district Chhatra Dal president Noyeem Ullah Chowdhury, were accused in the case.
Feni sadar model police station officer-in-charge, Md Rashed Khan Chowdhury, said bus drivers of the two buses and their assistants who were arrested shortly after the incident were also accused.
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District units of both the opposition BNP and the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) on Wednesday organised press conferences accusing each other for the attacks.
At a press conference at a hotel in Feni district town, AL general secretary Nizam Uddin Hazari MP blamed BNP’s infighting for the attacks on Khaleda.
When his attention was drawn to the video footage aired on various television channels which showed AL activists brandishing sticks and arms launching the attack, the ruling party MP claimed the AL activists went there to resist the attackers.
At another press conference at BNP’s temporary district unit office on Islampur road in Feni on Wednesday evening, local BNP leaders said the AL orchestrated the attack.
Both VP Joynal and Rehena Aktar Ranu were present at the press conference and claimed there was no rivalry between them.
The BNP leaders said it is not possible to hide the identity of the attackers in this era of digital technology.
Attackers seen in the video footage aired by different television channels, are activists of the ruling party and its front organisations - Chhatra League and Juba League.
The BNP leaders said the police accused BNP men for the attacks only to save the ruling party’s men.