BNP activists stage demonstrations amid heavy police presence at Naya Paltan

The leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP were staging demonstrations in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office in the capital on Saturday afternoon demanding its chairperson Khaleda Zia’s release from jail, reports UNB.

The BNP activists could not march towards the National Press Club with their procession amid police obstructions.

“The BNP leaders tried to march towards the National Press Club with a procession but police did not allow us to leave Naya Paltan area," said the party's assistant office secretary Saiful Islam Tipu.

Being obstructed by police, the BNP leaders and activists started their protest rally in front of its office around 2:30pm, he added.

Earlier in the morning, police cordoned off the BNP central office ahead of the its protest procession.

Law enforcers did not permit anyone to enter the office in the morning, BNP activists claimed.

On Wednesday, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the programme at a press conference.

He said they will bring out the procession from their Naya Paltan central office at 2:00pm on Saturday and it will end at the National Press Club.

Asked whether they got permission from police for their planned procession, Fakhrul said, “No permission is needed for holding such a programme. We’ll only inform them about the programme.”

Khaleda Zia has been in jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on 8 February 2018. She was found guilty in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated.

The BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the BSMMU since 1 April last year.