200 partymen injured in attacks during sit-ins, 124 arrested: BNP
The BNP has claimed more than 200 party men, including Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Chairperson's Advisory Council Member Amanullah Aman, were injured in attacks during its sit-in programmes today.
Besides, 124 leaders and activists, including Organising Secretary Advocate Abdus Salam Azad, were arrested by the police, claimed BNP leaders during a press conference at the party office in Nayapaltan today.
Speaking at the conference, BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul said, "We condemn and protest the violence that the government has carried out in Dhaka using law enforcers and ruling party men to thwart our peaceful programmes.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"People at home and abroad are in shock witnessing the unprovoked firing, tear gas, and armed attacks on peaceful protestors, as this tyrannical government attempts to cling to power by force."
He said Gayeshwar Chandra Roy suffered severe bleeding due to head injuries.
"The attacks on numerous leaders and activists, including the adviser to the party chairperson and former minister Aman Ullah Aman, and the indiscriminate arrest of countless leaders and activists proved that no citizen of the country is safe in the hands of this power-hungry government," said Mirza Fakhrul.
In response to a question from reporters regarding Gayeshwar Chandra Roy having lunch at the DB office after being detained, Fakhrul said police are doing such acts to avoid sanctions or visa bans from other countries.
From a grand rally in the capital's Nayapaltan on Friday, the BNP announced sit-ins at major entry points to Dhaka on Saturday as part of its all-out movement to oust the Awami League government and to hold the upcoming national election under a non-partisan government.
The opposition party also called upon its leaders and activists not to leave the streets until the government steps down.
The Awami League, on the other hand, vowed to counter the opposition movement at any cost.
On Friday, three affiliated bodies of the ruling Awami League also held a rally at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram.
Following the BNP's announcement of the sit-in programme, the Awami League also announced holding programmes at the city's entry points.
The simultaneous programmes of the arch-rivals on the same day have made public transport owners worried.
Additional members of the police and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed to the important entrances of Dhaka ahead of the planned sit-ins.
