'No bar in political activities, causing public sufferings to be resisted'

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said several political parties including BNP have been organising various programmes for causing sufferings to the people.

He said, "I have been saying there is no obstacle to the programmes of political parties. But when they cause public sufferings, damage public properties and vandalise vehicles, police and security forces will resist them. They would carry out the responsibilities entrusted with them."

The home minister made these remarks while visiting police members at Razarbagh central hospital in the capital on Saturday. The police members were injured in clashes with BNP over the party's sit-in programme in the capital on Saturday.

The home minister said, "They (BNP) wanted to isolate Dhaka from the entire Bangladesh. I have seen several central leaders who have taken positions at different spots and blocked roads, and they have stopped vehicles in the streets."

"The police have carried out the responsibilities entrusted with them. Some 31 police members have been injured while carrying out their responsibilities and they are underging treatment in this hospital," Asaduzzaman added.

Earlier, clashes between police and the leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are ongoing at Dhaka’s Dholaikhal, Uttara and Matuail in Dhaka. At the time of writing this report at 1:00pm, the clashes at Matuail were still going on.

The incidents took place after the police tried to disperse the BNP activists from their sit-in programme. Initially, it was known that several have sustained injuries, including BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy.

The opposition BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam announced at the party's grand rally yesterday, Friday, that they would observe sit-ins at different entry points in Dhaka on Saturday morning to press home their one-point for the resignation of the government and the next parliament election under a neutral government.

Following the BNP's announcement, the ruling Awami League also announced that they would remain alert at different spots in the capital to resist violence of BNP.