C T Online Desk: Law enforcers have remained on high alert in the capital over BNP’s Dhaka divisional rally scheduled to be held tomorrow with the venue issue yet to be resolved.
Police have taken position in different strategic points of the city, including all entry and exit points, to avert any untoward incident. Checkpoints have also been set up at the entrances.
On Thursday, law enforcers were seen frisking passengers of Dhaka-bound buses and other small vehicles on Dhaka-Chattogram, Dhaka-Aricha and Dhaka-Tangail highways. Search was also conducted on private cars.
However, passengers complained of harassment in some cases in the name of police search.
In the morning, it was seen that a large number of policemen were stationed in front of Kamal Mansion on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Jatrabari intersection.
A police team was seen searching pedestrians and rickshaw-pullers. Sometimes they stopped private cars and searched those.
Besides, a special police checkpost has been set up at the Aminbazar Bridge, entrance to Dhaka through Gabtoli.
Some 15 policemen were deployed there. Buses, motorcycles, private cars and microbuses coming from outside Dhaka were allowed to go only after being searched.
During the search, the transport documents were also seen to be scrutinised.
Policemen were also seen on full alert at various important places of the capital, including Sayedabad, Motijheel and Kakrail.
Faruq Hossain, deputy commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said a special operation is underway in the capital on December 1-15.
“Three important days — December 14, December 16 and December 25 are ahead. We’ve set up checkposts as part of the security measures to prevent any kind of sabotage,” he said.
Meanwhile, law enforcers withdrew the barricade from the road from the Nightingale crossing to Fakirerpool on Thursday afternoon, allowing movement of all kinds of vehicles.
But a huge number of law enforcers were seen deployed in and around the BNP’s central office at Nayapaltan.
The law enforcers kept the BNP office surrounded following a clash with BNP men on Wednesday that left one person killed and scores others injured.
Besides, three cases have been filed in connection with the clash. Over 500 BNP leaders and activists who were arrested on Wednesday were shown arrested in the cases while hundreds of people have been charged anonymously.
Of them, 450 were shown arrested in a case filed with Paltan Police Station while 28 in another case filed with Motijheel Police Station and 52 others in the case lodged with Shajahanpur Police Station, said DMP Deputy Commissioner (Motijheel Zone) Hayatul Islam Khan.
One person was killed and scores others were injured as BNP activists clashed with law enforcers near their party’s central office at Nayapaltan in the capital on Wednesday.
The clash broke out after BNP men attacked the law enforcers when they tried to remove them from the street.
BNP wants to hold their rally in front of the party office while the government has given permission to the party to hold the programme at Suhrawardy Udyan.
Hell-bent on their decision to stage the rally at Nayapaltan, BNP leaders and activists started gathering in front of the party office since the morning.
As police tried to drive them way, they swooped on the law enforcers, triggering the clash.
Later, police conducted a raid on the central office of the opposition party. They entered it around 4:30pm.
Meanwhile, police detained dozens of BNP leaders and activists, including its Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Publicity Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, BNP Chairperson’s special assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and Swechchhasebak Dal General Secretary Abdul Quader Bhuiyan Jewel.
BNP Dhaka South unit convener Abdus Salam, North city convener Amanullah Aman and BNP Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon were also arrested from the party office.
