Staff Reporter :
Pro-BNP activists under the banner of Jatiyatabadi Muktijuddher Projonmo on Tuesday took to the streets in the city demanding immediate release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia from jail.
They blocked the road in front of the High Court after a programme at the Jatiya Press Club auditorium. They occupied the High Court intersection for an hour and demonstrated there.
At one stage, police asked the BNP men to withdraw the barricade and end the programme as huge gridlocks were created in nearby areas.
As the BNP leaders tried to continue the programme, the law enforcers dispersed them by firing tear gas shells.
The angry BNP leaders and activists also threw brickbats targeting police and vandalized a number of vehicles on the road.
Earlier, the BNP activists organised a programme demanding the release of party chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail at the National Press Club while BNP’s standing committee member Moudud Ahmed was scheduled to be the chief guest. But this senior lawyer failed to turn up citing his engagements at the High Court. Sensing the circumstances, leaders of the organisation ended the programme ahead of schedule and brought out a procession.
“A small group of policemen subsequently tried to stop the procession as it advanced from the Press Club. However, the activists ignored the police and proceeded to station themselves on the High Court intersection. The blockade brought traffic to a standstill from the Press Club to Matsya Bhaban area for about an hour,” said Sajjadur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Ramna Division under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Later, tensions flared up after the presence of law enforcers, the protesters then proceeded to attack the police, forcing the law enforcers to retaliate, the police official said.
Finally, police brought the situation under control by firing tear-gas shells at the protesters. The situation started to normalise after 2:30 pm, the DC said.
The agitated BNP men went on a ransack and vandalised several vehicles. Police went into an action on the agitators that led clash and counter clash between the lawmen and BNP activists, witnesses said.
A group of BNP men, led by its Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, gathered at the busy thoroughfare in front the High Court around 1:00pm on Tuesday, halting traffic movement.
Some 30 to 40 vehicles were vandalized sometime before 2:00pm when police chased and dispersed them, according to witnesses.
Mentionable that Khaleda Zia has been in jail since she was convicted in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018.
Later in the same year, she was also convicted in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case, though her party claims both cases were politically motivated.
The BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) since April 1.
When asked why so many vehicles were vandalized during the demonstration, Dr. Fafrullah Chowdhury said that they had not vandalized any vehicle. The demonstration was peaceful, he said, adding that the miscreants might have done this.
Apart from Noman, BNP Vice Chairman Shawkat Mahmud, Gonoshasthya Kendra founder Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury and Muktijoddah Dal President Istiaq Aziz Ulfat, among others, took part in the demonstration.
