BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had to spend overnight at her Gulshan political office on Saturday as police kept it besieged a day before her party-led 20-party’s much-hyped January-5 rally. The barricade that was put up by the law enforcers in front of the BNP chief’s office through keeping their vehicles indiscriminately is still there in place, forcing the BNP chief to stay in her office till filing of the report at about 11.30 am. The presence of law enforcers were increased since morning while journalists barred from entering it. Police said they have taken the measures as part of intensifying security of the BNP chief. Meanwhile, Khaleda Zia’s special assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas told reporters early Sunday that the BNP chief asked the leaders of the BNP-led 20-party alliance to go ahead with their scheduled agitation programmes on January 5 in the city and other programmes across the country on Monday under any circumstances. He also said Khaleda Zia is likely to talk to media today and give necessary directions to her party men. Earlier on Saturday midnight, plainclothes police vacated BNP’s Nayapaltan central office and put it under lock and key after picking up its ailing joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and driving out 4-5 office staff. The raid was led by SI Jahangir from Paltan Police Station around 12.30 am when some of the office staff were asleep, and they were not even allowed to put on their formal dresses. Asked why the BNP office was locked, SI Jahangir told reporters that they had an order from the higher level. Minutes before locking it, a team of Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police picked Rizvi up from the BNP office and took him to Apollo Hospital for treatment. The BNP leader is now being treated at the hospital under police custody. But the law enforcers still did not make it clear whether they arrested Rizvi or not. Khaleda Zia’s confinement and the apparent arrest of Rizvi and raid on the BNP central office came a day before the much-hyped January-5 rally of the BNP-led 20-party alliance in the capital, marking its ‘Democracy Killing Day’. The government, however, did not give BNP the permission to hold the rally citing reason that there might be anarchy in the city. Khaleda was confined to her offices around 11:30pm on Sunday. BNP Vice Chairman Selima Rahman, Khaleda’s adviser Sabih Uddin Ahmed, executive committee members Shirin Sultana, Rasheda Begum Heera, Sultana Ahmed, are among others, with Khaleda. “Madam Khaleda Zia remained confined to her office by the members of law-enforcement agencies, including police, of this illegal government,” Shimul Biswas told reporters at about 1 am. Shimul said Khaleda who had been there at her office since 8:30pm came out of it and get into her vehicle at about 11 pm to go to BNP’s Nayapaltan central office in a bid to visit ailing Rizvi. As she took her seat in her vehicle, police intercepted the BNP chief saying that she can go nowhere. Later, Khaleda attempted to return to her residence but police did not remove the barricade they put up in front of the main entrance of her office blocking the road. “Waiting in her vehicle for about 30 minutes, Madam returned to her office chamber,” Shimul Biswas said. Several vehicles have been kept at different locations around the office, restricting movement of any type of vehicles. Khaleda was also confined to her Gulshan residence in the similar way last year after she had announced ‘March For Democracy Programme’ on December 27, putting her under house arrest. Asked whether they think Khaleda was put under house arrest like that of last year to foil their January-5 rally , Shimul Biswas said anything is possible by this government as it has turned mad and it has no sense of democracy and courtesy.” Source : UNB, Dhaka.
