Staff Reporter :At least 50 persons were injured when two groups of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) locked in a fierce clash over formation of its new committee in front BNP central office at Nayapaltan in the city on Sunday noon. Of the injured, two received splinter injuries in their legs following cocktail blasts. They were sent to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) for treatment. The police allegedly played the role of silent spectators during the incident. Although the police were on-duty at the opposite of the party office, they moved to the Polwel Market when the clash began. BNP Dhaka City Unit Member Secretary Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel had requested the deprived activists to leave the party office. But the agitated rival activists of JCD were demanding the removal of the new committee post holders from the spot before their departure. Some post holders chased the rivals chanting slogan against them. The rivals also counter chased the post holders. The street fight continued for about half an hour stretching from Nightingale crossing to Kakrail. At one stage of the chase and counter-chase, at least two cocktails were blasted in front of the BNP office at about 2:10 pm. The two groups equipped with wooden and bamboo sticks also pelted stones at each other. The new committee post holders retreated at one stage of the street fight and took shelter in the party office. The incumbent senior leaders of BNP and its associate bodies, those were present also took shelter inside the office to avoid attack by rivals.Some window glasses of the office broke down when the rivals started throwing stones targeting the party office. A portion of the mural of BNP founder and former President Zia-ur-Rahman installed at entrance of the office was also damaged at that time. Later, the rivals locked the main gate of the office and took control of its entrance until 5: 30pm. During that time several BNP leaders, including Mirza Fakhrul, were confined inside of the office. Earlier on that day, the new committee post bearers took position at the entrance of the party office at around 8:00 am. Hearing the news, the rivals also rushed in front of the office at around 10:00 am. Both the groups tried to negotiate the matter and hold a long discussion. But the situation rapidly changed when BNP Acting Secretary General Fakhrul Islam started briefing the journalists at about 1:10 pm.A tense situation created when the two groups, post holders and rivals, began chanting slogans against each other. BNP senior leaders, including Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizbi Ahmed, Juba Dal President Moazzem Hossain Alal, BNP Dhaka City Unit Member Secretary Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and General Secretary of Sechhasebak Dal Mir Sarafat Ali Sofu, tried to pacify them. But they failed. The deprived JCD men said, they have been doing JCD politics for a long time and dedicated to BNP. But they were deprived this time. They also alleged that BNP Student Affairs Secretary Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury Anne and Assistant Students Affairs Secretary Sultan Salauddin Tuku convinced Khaleda Zia to sign in the new committee in which their followers held all the important posts. “We have served in jails and suffered harassments in the hand of ruling party men and law enforcers. We even cannot sleep in our own residences in fear of police harassment. Despite our such dedication, we have been deprived of the posts of the new committee”, said Mohammad Abdul Gaffar, a member of the JCD previous central committee.”Can high command return our times lost doing this politics?” he asked. “We think a fresh committee is the only solution.”JCD previous committee Vice-Presidents Abu Sayed, Zaved Hasan Sumon, Tarikul Islam Titu, Tarun Dey, Razu Talukder and Joint-Secretaries Ferdous Munna, Mashiur Rahman Mishu and Shamsujjuha, were found, among others, of the unhappy leaders. On the other hand, some JCD new committee post bearers said that their supreme leader Begum Khaleda Zia formed the committee after justifying the activities and dedication of them. The rivals were doing wrong, they added. BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sat in an emergency meeting with a five-member delegation of rival JCD leaders inside the BNP’s central office to discuss the issue at around 5:20pm yesterday.In the meeting, they conveyed their demands to the party’s secretary general. Mirza Fakhrul assured them that he would hold a talk with BNP Chairperson in this regard.Later, getting assurance from secretary general the rivals postponed their programme.
