Staff Reporter :BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested on Tuesday. The Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up him from in front of the National Press Club in the city in the afternoon. The BNP leader has been staying at the Press Club since Monday afternoon amid brewing tensions over the January 5 programme, announced by the BNP-led alliance and the ruling Awami League. He took shelter there to avert arrest. Mirza Fakhrul came out of the Press Club after around 25 hours amid protest by pro-Awami League journalists. As soon as he came out of the Press Club premises, DB police forcibly got into his car and asked the driver to go straight to the DB’s Mintoo Road office. Police said that they arrested the BNP leader in a bus torching case filed with Paltan Police Station. Deputy Commissioner of DB (South) Krishna Pada Roy told media that that Mirza Fakhrul would be produced before the court on Wednesday in the arson case in which he is an accused. Later, he will be shown arrested in some other cases filed with several Thanas in the city, he added.Speaking to some reporters from his car, Mirza Fakhrul said, “The ongoing anti-government movement would continue even if I am arrested.” Minutes before getting out of the Press Club, the BNP spokesperson held a press conference where he explained the reasons of his staying overnight at the Club. “I did not go out of the Club because of my security. After attending a programme at the Press Club on Monday afternoon, I saw all gates of the Press Club locked and surrounded by police and Awami League activists,” he said. He also expressed his gratitude to the journalists for giving him a warm hospitality during his stay inside the Club.At the press conference, Mirza Fakhrul also urged all to continue the ongoing movement to protect democracy by holding a fresh election under a non-party administration. He criticised the government for arresting ETV chairman Abdus Salam.He went to the Press Club to attend a programme organised by pro-BNP professionals. Since then, the pro-Awami League journalists have been protesting his taking coming to the Press Club. They on Tuesday also brought out procession and chanted slogans demanding ouster of Mirza Fakhrul. The pro-AL journalists and the supporters of the ruling party surrounded Mirza Fakhrul’s car and shouted slogans after he had gotten out. Some of the ruling party men, equipped with sticks, were also seen waiting at the main gate.Meanwhile, the-pro-BNP journalists cordoned off Mirza Fakhrul and took him towards his vehicle parked on the Press Club premises. In protest against the arrest, the Thakurgaon district BNP called a 25-hour hartal from 5:00pm on Tuesday in the district, the hometown of Mirza Fakhrul.Meanwhile, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a statement protested and condemned the arrest of Mirza Fakhrul. She said that the process of the arrest is nothing but atrocities by the administration. She called upon the people to raise their voice against the undemocratic behaviour of the government. She demanded immediate unconditional release of Mirza Fakhrul and other leaders and activists now in jail. “On the one hand, the government has kept me confined to my office. On the other hand, it has arrested my party’s acting secretary general in a fascist style. The government has launched an arrest spree across the country while the people are passing through a tense situation” she added. In another statement, Khaleda Zia also denounced the arrest of ETV chairman Abdus Salam and demanded his release.
