The law enforcement agencies have started making arrests of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders and activists again as the party has been planning for further programmes to press home its demand of resignation of the government, alleged the party.
The police have arrested 249 leaders and activists, including central leader Ruhul Kuddus Takukder, of the BNP and its associate bodies in 24 hours from Tuesday evening.
Most of them came to Dhaka from different districts to join the party’s rally on Wednesday.
Governing Bangladesh Awami League (AL), however, declined the allegation.
But court sources and the police informed Prothom Alo that as many as 198 leaders and activists of the BNP were shown arrested from different areas in Dhaka and produced before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) in Dhaka.
The court sent them to jail after hearings. Besides, 11 of them were placed on police remand for two days each.
BNP said the police made the arrests of its leaders and activists from the streets and hotels in Dhaka as they came to the capital city to join the party’s programme at Naya Paltan. Besides, a number of them were arrested from raids at their house, the de facto opposition alleged.
Some people identifying them as members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police on Tuesday night arrested the opposition central organising secretary and former state minister Ruhul Kuddus Talukder from residence in Gulshan. Nearly the same time, two more leaders including central committee convener of Jatiyatabadi Tanti Dal, an associate body of the BNP, Abul Kalam Azad was arrested from Shewrapara area in Mirpur in the capital. Besides, 51 leaders and activists were arrested during a raid at Merina Residential Hotel in Kakrail, adjacent to the party’s headquarters in Naya Paltan.
DB police lodged several cases against them under explosives act.
Ruhul Kuddus Talukder is in bail in all the cases filed against him, claimed the BNP.
Tanti Dal leader Abul Kalam Azad and another person were arrested as suspects in a case filed on charges of hurting religious sentiments in February, Kafrul police station officer-in-charge Faruqul Alam told Prothom Alo.
Speaking about the arrests made from Merina Residential Hotel, DB’s Motijheel division deputy commissioner Md Rajib Al Masud told Prothom Alo that the law enforcement conducted a raid at the hotel on a tip-off that some people had been planning a conspiracy gathering at some hotels. During the raid, cocktails were hurled on them but no one was injured. At that time, DB members detained 51 leaders and activists of the BNP from there, he claimed.
The DB police filed a case against the 51 and another 200-300 unnamed people. The case statement said that a firearm was captured from the BNP men. Police sources said the 51 arrestees will be produced before the court on Thursday.
Speaking about the situation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) spokesperson Md Faruq Hossain told Prothom Alo on Wednesday night that many of the BNP leaders and activists were arrested for vandalising during the previous programmes of the party. That time 11 cases were lodged against them. They are being arrested as accused in the cases. None of them were arrested over the BNP’s rally on Wednesday, he claimed.
Police and court sources, however, informed Prothom Alo that among the BNP leaders and activists, who have been arrested centering the party’s rally on Wednesday, 188 were shown arrested in 45 old cases. Most of the cases were filed in November-December last year and May and July of this year.
Besides, police showed Ruhul Kuddus Talukder and 11 others arrested in a case filed at Badda police station.
Lawyers of the BNP leaders said police arrested a large number of the party’s leaders and activists before the parliamentary elections in 2018.
‘I would live only four more years’
Some people identifying them as members of the DB police arrested Ruhul Kuddus Talukder from his Gulshan residence at around 10:00 pm Tuesday. Later, he was produced before the Dhaka CMM court with 11 others in a case filed at Badda police station. Police pleaded for the remand order of Bhola district Jubo Dal president Jamal Uddin and 10 others in the case.
Then Ruhul Kuddus Talukder’s lawyer pleaded to the court to allow the defendant to appear before the court as he is a cancer patient. Then the BNP leader was brought to the courtroom from the lock-up. That time Ruhul Kuddus Talukder himself informed the court about his health. He said ,“I need to go under chemotherapy every month. I take this treatment at Evercare Hospital. But I could not take the therapy as scheduled on 3 October as the medicine had not arrived from the US. Now the medicine has arrived.”
He also told the court, “My physician told me, I would live for four more years only. One year has already gone by.”
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder’s lawyer Taherul Islam said, “Ruhul Kuddus himself spoke about his health at the court. We pleaded for his bail but the court declined the plea and sent him to jail.”
The court also granted remand to 11 others.
50 detained in Savar, Dhamrai, Narayanganj
Police on Wednesday detained at least 30 persons from different checkposts in Savar and Dhamrai centring the BNP rally in Dhaka. Officials from the concerned police stations said several accused have been arrested and some suspects were detained.
Besides, police detained 20 people searching Dhaka-bound vehicles at the Narayanganj outpost.
‘Children’s day-long wait to see their father’
Police on Tuesday arrested Bashir Ahmed from Matuail in a case filed at Kadamtali police station in Dhaka in July. Later, on Wednesday, the police produced him before the CMM court and pleaded to keep him at jail while the defence lawyer appealed for his bail. Rejecting the bail plea, the court sent him to jail. The court was informed in writing that he is not involved in any politics and police arrested him as a suspect.
Bashir’s wife Taslima Khatun went to the police station learning about his arrest but she could not talk to her husband. Taslima went to the CMM court along with her daughter, who is a college student, and son, a school student at around 10:00 am. Bashir was taken to the lock-up by a prison van after 2:00 pm but his son and daughter could not meet him. He was in the lock-up even at 6:00 pm.
Bashir’s wife Taslima Khatun told Prothom Alo, “My husband is not involved in politics; he is a grocer. But the police arrested my husband in a political case.”