Staff Reporter :
The motorcade of the BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came under attack at Rangunia upazila in Chittagong on Sunday morning when he was heading towards Rangamati to distribute reliefs in landslide affected areas.
Four of the BNP leaders, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party’s Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Organising Secretary Mahbuber Rahman Shamim got injured in the attack.
The BNP blamed the ruling Awami League for the attack. BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in a statement condemned it and warned of dire consequence.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir termed the incident as attack on democracy.
Meanwhile, the party called for demonstrations countrywide protesting the attack on Monday (today).
Mirza Fakhrul has termed the attack on his motorcade as an attack on democracy.
He issued the statement while briefing the media at Chittagong Press Club after the attack on his motorcade on Sunday.
The BNP leader said, “This is not a personal attack but an attack on democracy. It’s an attack on the people who think freely and oppose the government.”
Blaming the ruling party for the attack, he said, “This attack has revealed the true character of Awami League. If we are facing this sort of problem then just imagine the situation of the general public.” He urged the people to unite against the hooliganism of the ruling party.
“At least 30 to 40 people attacked the motorcade with batons. At first, they hurled a big stone and broke the windscreen and then attacked us,” said Mirza Fakhrul.
He said BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury was severely injured and some other party men received minor injuries in the incident.
Mahbuber Rahman Shamim claimed from the spot that the incident took place that the local leaders and workers of ruling Awami League were involved with the attack.
He said that a number of miscreants attacked the motorcade with sticks and sharp weapons. Shamim said the miscreants threw brickbats targetting the vehicles.
Eyewitnesses said that miscreants carried out the attack on the motorcade on Chittagong-Kaptai Road in Ichhakhali area around 11:00am.
After the incident, the BNP Secretary-General cancelled Rangamati visit.
Party sources said Mirza Fakhrul flew to Chittagong from Dhaka on Sunday morning and his motorcade was scheduled to reach Rangamati via Kaptai.
The BNP will stage demonstration across the country today protesting the attack.
The party will stage demonstrations in district and upazila headquarters, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General, said in a press briefing in Comilla on Sunday afternoon.
Rizvi said, “This attack is an alarming sign for the democracy. The heinous attack was launched on the BNP leaders so that they cannot see the failure of the government in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.”
