Police, BNP clash in Dholaikhal

The police and BNP leaders and activists clashed at the Old Dhaka’s Dholaikhal area on Saturday morning. The police also used tear gas on the BNP sit-in programme.

During the clashes, BNP’s senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and other leaders and activists were present. Gayeshwar Chandra Roy sustained injuries in the clashes.

At 11:30am, the police first charged at the BNP leaders and activists and tried to disperse them from Dholaikhal. The BNP activists backtracked at first. The police then used tear gas at the protestors but the wind changed the direction of the smoke and harmed the police instead. Some police officials were affected by the gas.

That’s when BNP activists charged back at the police.

By the time this report was filed at 11:45am, the clashes between BNP and the police were ongoing.

Earlier, after 11:00am, hundreds of BNP followers began their sit-in programme at one side of the road holding plastic sticks which had the national flag hoisted at the top. They were chanting anti-government slogans.

BNP was supposed to hold this sit-in programme at Nayabazar. But Awami League leaders and activists occupied that area at 7:00am. A huge number of police force was also deployed at the area.

BNP activists then shifted the sit-in programme to Dholaikhal, which is almost 1.5 kilometres away from Nayabazar. That’s where the clashes with the police took place.