DMP arrests 2,172 BNP men in 89 violence cases

A total of 2,172 leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been arrested from the capital city since 28 October, on allegations of conducting violence. 

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Mirza Abbas, and a large number of senior leaders are among the arrestees.

KN Roy Niyoti, additional deputy commissioner (media and public relations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), formally disclosed the arrests on Sunday afternoon, saying they arrested the BNP men in 89 cases filed over incidents of violence during the period. 

“There have been 89 cases over deterioration of law and order situation and violence, and a total of 2,172 people have been arrested. Of them, some 37 people were arrested yesterday,” he added. 

According to the DMP, the Paltan police station recorded the highest number of lawsuits  – 14 cases – over violence during the period, while there are six cases in Ramna and Shahjahanpur police stations each. 

In a virtual press briefing, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the government turned the country into a giant prison. 

The detentions came when Bangladesh is scheduled to hold the next national election either at the end of December this year or at the beginning of January next year.

The ruling Awami League is hell-bent on holding the election under the current government, while the opposing BNP remains steadfast in its demand for an election-time caretaker government.

Now, the BNP, along with other like-minded entities, has been on an all-out movement to press home their demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the reinstatement of a neutral poll-time government.

In the face of a police attack at their grand rally at Naya Paltan on 28 October, the party called a one-day hartal and subsequent three-day blockade. Later, they called another 48-hour blockade across the country starting from Sunday.

Meantime, the police have arrested a large number of senior BNP leaders and sent them to jail through the court.

On the other hand, the election commission (EC) is taking preparations in full-swing to hold the election in time. It held a dialogue with the registered political parties over the election situation on Saturday, while the BNP leaders are mostly languishing in jail.