Police ‘confine’ BNP leader in his in-law’s residence for 3 hrs
The police have allegedly obstructed a district-level BNP leader at his father-in-law’s place for three hours in Savar upazila of Dhaka on Wednesday, in an effort to refrain him from joining a central rally in the capital.
The leader – Khorshed Alam, joint secretary of Dhaka district BNP and former senior joint secretary of district Jubo Dal – was eventually freed when the police withdrew the confinement around 1:00pm.
Khorshed might have an intention not to join the rally and stayed at the residence
Several residents of the locality and BNP leaders said Khorshed had a schedule to attend the rally in the capital's Naya Paltan area, along with other leaders and activists of his unit. They were supposed to start from his father-in-law's residence in Chayabithi area in the morning on dozens of microbuses.
Meanwhile, a police team from Savar model police station took position in front of the residence around 10:00am, obstructing the BNP leader along with others inside.
The BNP men also alleged that the cops seized the keys from some microbuses that were rented for going to the rally and parked on the premises. At around 1:30 pm, they left the place and returned the keys to the drivers.
Several traders who run shops adjacent to the residence also confirmed the incident to Prothom Alo. On the condition of anonymity, they said three police vehicles had been stationed on the approach road to the residence since the morning. However, they left the place after 1:00 pm.
Some 70 microbuses were rented to go to the rally in Dhaka from Savar. The vehicles began to reach the starting point in the morning, but the cops stopped them and seized keys from 14 of the vehicles.
Abid Hossain, a resident of the locality, said, “Some 20 to 25 policemen in three police vans took position in front of Khorshed Bhai's in-laws' residence in the morning, to stop him from joining the rally. Some of the cops were waiting outside the main gate and allowed no BNP leaders or activists to leave the residence.”
Disclosing the incident, Khorshed Alam said they rented a total of 70 microbuses to join the rally along with the leaders and activists of Savar BNP. The vehicles began to reach the starting point at the gate of Jahangirnagar Society in the morning. But the cops from the Savar police station stopped the microbuses and confiscated the keys from 14 of the vehicles.
“They also obstructed me inside the residence. However, they left around 1:30 pm and returned the keys to the drivers,” the BNP leader told Prothom Alo.
Asked about the allegations, Dipak Chandra Saha, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station, denied having obstructed anyone.
“The policemen worked at different places all day long, to maintain law and order during the rally. They might have gone there as part of their duties. But the allegation of confining someone is completely untrue,” he said.
The OC also said Khorshed might have an intention not to join the rally and stayed at the residence.