Confined to her office since Saturday night, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Monday afternoon tried to come out of the besieged office. Khaleda came down to the main gate of the office around 3:48pm in her bid to get out of it, but she could not as police kept the gate under lock and key. Meanwhile, aggrieved BNP leaders and activists on the office premises chanted various slogans against the government. As they started hitting the gate in an apparent bid to break it open, police used pepper spray to disperse them. Besides, BNP chairperson’s special assistant Shimul Biswas alleged that the government has resorted to falsehood about Khaleda’s confinement. Speaking at the office premises, he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Khaleda Zia was not confined and his State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Kamal also claimed so. “But, Khaleda Zia is not being allowed to come out of her office.” Shimul Biswas also alleged that the government wants to establish a one-party rule undercover of democracy. He said the BNP chief urged the country’s people to continue the movement against the government. Police confined the BNP chief to her Gulshan political office around 11:30pm on Saturday, forcing her to spend two nights there. A number of vehicles, including sand-and-brick-laden ones, have been kept at different locations around the office, restricting the movement of any mode of vehicle. Amid the escalating tensions, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Sunday imposed a ban on holding all types of public rally and gathering in the city from 5 pm today (Sunday) until further notice.
