Home ›› 10 Dec 2022 ›› Front
After many twists and turns, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has decided to hold its much-awaited Dhaka divisional rally at Golapbagh today (Saturday) even with most of the party’s top leaders arrested and thrown in jail.
Party leaders announced the decision on the venue on Friday following days of heated standoffs with the authorities concerned over the issue.
Earlier on the day, police arrested the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and its Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas. Both were later denied bail and sent to jail by a Dhaka court ahead of the rally.
“A rally of the public”
Tensions have been brewing over the BNP rally during the last few days as the authorities and opposition leaders failed to reach an agreement on the venue.
The authorities had initially permitted BNP to hold the rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, but party leaders wanted the venue to be in the Naya Paltan area.
The standoff led to a deadly clash between security forces and BNP supporters on Wednesday and resulted in the arrest of scores of party activists, including some of its top leaders.
On Thursday night, BNP proposed the Kamalapur Stadium as an alternative venue for their rally, but security forces disagreed and offered Bangla College ground in Mirpur as a venue option.
Following long negotiations between the groups, Golapbagh field was announced as the venue on Friday, BNP Vice-Chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain and Law Affairs Secretary Kayser Kamal confirmed to journalists after a meeting
with Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) Chief Harun-or-Rashid.
They said the police will assist them with all kinds of security.
DMP’s DB chief Harun-or-Rashid said permission has been given to use Golapbagh field for the BNP rally. A large number of police officers have been deployed there to beef up security.
“The security that we arranged for the planned rally at Suhrawardy Udyan will now be deployed in Golapbagh field. Our team has already started working,” he said, adding, “We hope they will assemble nicely without creating any disturbance.”
Soon after the announcement, supporters of the party began to gather there.
However, the day before the rally, events took another dramatic turn with police arresting BNP’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party’s Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas. They were arrested in connection with a case filed over the party’s clash with police at Naya Paltan on Wednesday.
Hours earlier they were shown arrested, DB Chief Harun said the two BNP leaders were taken to the DB office for interrogation over some issues and that the police would take further decisions after interrogation. Both leaders were picked up from their home in the early hours of Friday.
They were later produced before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim’s court, where they pleaded for a bail. But their plea was denied and the politicians were sent to jail following an appeal from the police. However, no remand has been sought against the arrestees.
Defence lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder confirmed this matter to the journalists.
Fakhrul and Abbas are the new addition to BNP leaders arrested in the days leading to the rally. Earlier, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was arrested on Wednesday along with Amanullah Aman and Abdus Salam, conveners of BNP’s Dhaka city south and north units respectively.
BNP’s Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, and Shimul Biswas, personal special assistant of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, were also among those detained.
Apart from the leaders, police also arrested hundreds over the clash at Naya Paltan that killed a BNP activist and injured scores on Wednesday.
However, BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said at a press briefing on Friday that the party will not postpone the rally despite the arrests of the main leaders.
He said, “This rally is no longer a party rally, but a rally of the public. It does not matter if we (BNP leaders) are able to be present there or not, it is the rally that matters.”
“Even if Fakhrul and Abbas are not there, the people will make the rally a success.”
Supporters of BNP began to head towards the Golapbagh field in groups soon after the venue was finalised.
The first group of leaders and workers reached the field before 4:30 and half of the field was crowded by evening.
“This government is an illegal government. They are afraid of us. Because of this they have arrested our leaders and workers,” a BNP activist said.
They added that they were satisfied to hold the rally at Golapbagh.
Strict security measures across city
Law enforcers have beefed up security across the capital ahead of the BNP rally.
Security forces are conducting extensive search at different entry points to Dhaka and have set up check posts at various key locations. Besides, the police are conducting special operations on roads and highways.
Visiting a permanent check post in front of Gabtali Parbat cinema hall area, this correspondent saw police conducting search.
DMP’s DB Chief Harun said the police are conducting search to keep people’s lives and property safe and avoid vandalism. It is not the police’s intention to harass anyone.
Police are strictly monitoring entry points to Dhaka from Gazipur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Savar. Additional police have been deployed on the highways.
The BNP office in Naya Paltan in the capital was locked till this report was filed at 5pm on Friday. No party leaders and activists were seen there. A large number of police were deployed to control the area.
Police had barricaded the road from Nightingale to Fakirapool intersection to bring the situation in the area under control. They have also stopped traffic in that area. Police officials said they took control of the entire area to prevent BNP supporters from gathering there. Even common people were not allowed to go there.
An atmosphere of fear
The security boost was visible across Dhaka as traffic reduced drastically on Friday. Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Sciencelab, Shahbagh, Dhaka University area, Gulistan, Arambagh, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Farmgate areas of Dhaka witnessed a little to zero traffic on the roads.
Passengers suffered due to a lack of transport. Visiting the Gabtali and Saidabad bus terminals, this correspondent found most of the bus counters to be lacking in passengers. Some counters were closed due to passenger shortage.
Billal Hossain, an employee of Rajdhani Express in Gabtali, said “The number of passengers is less today compared to other days. So, the bus leaves less than other days. There is less going from this side, less coming from that side.”
Meanwhile, many have refrained from going to Dhaka amid the tense situation while others are afraid of undesired consequences.
Sarwar Hossain, a resident of the Azimpur area, had bought a ticket to go to Pabna to attend his ailing mother.
“I was afraid about whether there will be a problem on the road or if I will be able to catch the bus. But so far there has been no problem,” he said.
Similar scenarios haunted the Saidabad and Mohakhali bus terminal. The bus workers at the terminals said there is an atmosphere of fear. People are afraid to come out.
