Police said they detained over 300 leaders and activists of the BNP from the party's Naya Paltan headquarters after a clash between the party men and law enforcers on Wednesday afternoon.
The detained leaders included BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie.
After the raid on the BNP office following the clash, Harun-or-Rashid, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) additional commissioner (detective branch), told the media that many of the detainees were accused in different cases, and there are arrest warrants against them.
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Also, police seized 15 unexploded crude bombs from the BNP office and 1.50 lakh bottles of drinking water during the raid, he added.
Earlier, DMP Joint Commissioner (Operations) Biplob Kumar Sarkar told the media that they stayed in Naya Paltan to deal with the overall situation with "patience and were provoked at one stage."
He said, "The BNP men hurled bombs at the law enforcers from the third floor of the party's central office during a chase and counter chase. We seized many bombs that were kept at the BNP office for carrying out subversive activities."
In the afternoon, the BNP activists gathered in front of their headquarters and started chanting slogans. Sensing that the situation could turn volatile, police asked the party members to leave the area immediately. This resulted in a heated argument, and at one point police started beating the activists with batons to disperse them.
Taking shelter in nearby lanes, the BNP activists started throwing brickbats in return. To quell the protesters, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets towards them, which injured around 50 people.
Falling sick due to inhaling tear gas, some 200 activists took shelter inside the BNP office. Later, police conducted a raid inside the office and arrested about 300 activists along with party leaders.
Police obstructed Mahmudur Rahman Manna-led Ganatantra Mancha at the Nightingale Intersection in the capital from advancing towards Naya Paltan.
