Staff Reporter :
Police raided the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan party office in the city on Saturday morning.
“The raid was carried out at the Gulshan party office as per a search warrant issued by a Dhaka Court to find out whether there is any anti-state document in it,” police said.
However, nothing was found there and none was arrested during the one and a half hours raid that began at about 8:30am. The police officers of Gulshan Zone, who were during the raid, did not talk to the media.
Based on information that huge materials and strikers have been hoarded at House No 86, Road No 6 of Gulshan 2 and its adjacent areas in a bid to carry out subversive acts, a heavy contingent of law enforcers comprising, police, elite force Rapid Action Battalion and members of different Intelligence Agencies took position at about 6:00am on the day, according police sources.
Breaking the lock police stormed the office at 7:30am and launched a massive search at different rooms at the ground floor and first floor. However, police did not enter the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s room.
“Police along with mechanics broke the lock open of Room Number Nine at ground floor and launched a search. Police also took some still photographs and videos of the papers from there,” an employee of the party office said.
Witnesses and locals said stringent security measures were taken across the Gulshan 2 area before the raid.
Police sealed off all entry points leading to the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan party office and none was allowed to pass through the area.
When contacted Abu Bakar Siddique, Officer-in-Charge, Gulshan Police Station, said following a search warrant issued by the court, police carried out the raid on the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office to find out whether there is any anti-state document in it.
“Police sealed off the two entry points of Road No 86 at about 6:00am on Saturday and took position in front of the office and later conducted the raid at about 8:00am,” he said
Being informed about the raid, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi entered in the Gulshan party office around 8:45am.
Terming the raid as conspiracy against BNP, he said that police conducted the drive to make Khaleda Zia upset mentally centring an anonymous General Diary (GD).
Rizvi also said that police gave a written statement mentioning that their result is zero
Meanwhile, BNP has announced a countrywide demonstration for today (Sunday) to protest against the police search of party Chairperson’s Gulshan office.
Party’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement at a discussion held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity yesterday.
He termed the search ‘cowardly’ saying it’s a part of deep-rooted conspiracy by the Awami League government.
Police reportedly later gave a ‘list’ according to which they found nothing of importance, said the BNP leader.
