The police arrested about two hundred BNP leaders and workers from a building in Kakrail of the capital. They were arrested from the under-construction building in Kakrail around 12:30 pm on Friday.
Dhaka Metropolitan Detective (DB) Police Chief Mohammad Harun Or Rashid said that the BNP leaders and activists were staying in that building with the intention of sabotaging the mass gathering. A large quantity of batons, cocktails and hand grenades were recovered from them. When the DB police went to the raid, they threw multiple cocktails on them.
According to police, the building under construction belongs to Zamzam Group. The owner of this group is BNP leader Mobaswer Alam Bhuiyan. He is a candidate of BNP in the national elections from a seat in Comilla.
Police officer Harun Or Rashid told Prothom Alo that some of the detained BNP leaders and workers have been taken to the intelligence office for questioning. Others have been kept at Ramana police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Harun Or Rashid said that they have come to know that BNP leaders and workers are staying in several other such abandoned buildings in the capital. Those places will also be raided.
Today Saturday, the party will hold a mass meeting in front of the central office of BNP in Nayapaltan to demand the fall of the government. Dhaka Metropolitan Police allowed BNP to hold this program after 8:30 pm yesterday. A stage is being prepared in front of the central office of BNP in Nayapaltan on the occasion of this mass meeting. Several leaders of the party are present there.
On the occasion of this grand meeting of BNP, the leaders and workers of the party from all over the country have been coming to Dhaka for several days. Keeping this rally in front, the police have been interrogating the passengers by setting up checkpoints at the entrances of Dhaka for the last two days. Suspects are being detained from there. In addition to this, BNP leaders and activists are being detained by conducting raids in various areas of Dhaka for several days. Later they are shown being arrested in an old sabotage case.
Apart from this, BNP leaders and workers are being detained in different districts of the country. 426 BNP leaders and workers have been arrested in 18 districts including Dhaka in 24 hours till yesterday afternoon.
