BNP activists get locked into a clash with police in Kakrail area of the city during the party's grand rally on Saturday. — FE photo A series of violent clashes marked opposition rallies in the city on Saturday, leaving one policeman and a Juba Dal activist reportedly dead and dozens of political activists, journalists and members of law-enforcement agencies injured.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal across the country for today (Sunday) as their grand rally in Dhaka was allegedly intercepted by the actions of the law-enforcement agencies and ruling-party members.
The ruling Awami League, however, called for holding peace rallies across the country on the same day, apparently in an attempt to counter the BNP shutdown.
BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the hartal programme from the grand rally around 3:00 pm.
The leaders and activists of BNP alleged that a joint vigour of the police and ruling party activists swooped on the BNP leaders and activists at about 3:00pm, hindering the activities of their grand rally.
Earlier, a clash between police and BNP members began around 1:00 pm near the Kakrail mosque which later spread up to the Nightingale intersection.
Around 3:00 pm, police took position at the Nightingale intersection, fired sound grenades and tear-shells canisters towards Nayapaltan and Shantinagar areas to disperse the demonstrators.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) forces were deployed around 2:00 pm but hardly intervened, according to media reports.
The grand rally was foiled, and the leaders and activists of BNP left the grand-rally venue immediately in search of safe shelters. The Nayapaltan area looked deserted by around 3:30 pm.
"Please don't respond to anyone's provocation, please be seated. The government tried to foil our rally," the BNP secretary general uttered with a louder voice amid clashes, calling upon the followers not to leave the venue.
He also lambasted the government and the law enforcement agencies for attacking their peaceful rally. By then, teargas smoke was approaching towards the meeting venue.
BNP standing committee member Begum Selima Rahmàn completed her speech and the loudspeaker became inactive at the last part of the speech of another standing committee member Amir Khashru Mahmud Chowhury, who was continuing amid heavy noise and sound heard Kakrail area, creating panic at the meeting venue.
An injured person with blood stains was brought to the meeting dais, intensifying the panic.
At one stage, BNP leader Nipun Roy, Aminul Haque and Ishraq Hossain along with some others tried to move towards Kakrail.
By then, tear gas smoke completely covered the meeting venue, forcing the central leaders to leave the dais.
Following the police swoop, the BNP's grand rally demanding immediate resignation of the government and holding a free, fair and participatory election under a neutral interim government came to an end. Earlier, the grand rally started at 12:40 pm in front of the party's Naya Paltan office in the capital. Dhaka North and South units of BNP organised the event.
The clashes between police and BNP stalwarts broke out around 1:30 pm at the Kakrail area in the city.
The police raid on the BNP's rally later led to clashes that spread to different parts of the city while Nayaplatan, Kakrail and Paltan areas turned into battle fields.
BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas presided over the meeting. Member secretary of Dhaka North BNP Aminul Haque and acting member secretary of Dhaka North BNP Liton Mahmud jointly moderated the rally that lasted for only less than two hours.
Earlier, leaders and activists of BNP gathered at the meeting venue of Naya Paltan in the early morning of Friday.
BNP and other like-minded political parties have long been demanding immediate resignation of the government to facilitate holding a free, fair and participatory election under a neutral interim government.
BNP has also been demanding immediate release of their detained party leaders and reconstituting the Election Commission, and controlling the high prices of essential commodities.
Meanwhile, Jamat-e-Islam completed their rally at Arambag on the day almost peacefully amid least interception by the law-enforcement agencies.
Awami League also completed its rally at Bangabandhu Avenue with one or two intra-group clashes.
However, some media houses reported the death of a policeman during clashes at Kakrail in the city.
Police cordoned off the nearby road of BNP's Naya Paltan office from Nightingle intersection to Fakirapool intersection till filling of the report around 7:10 pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 841 leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami were arrested from Dhaka city and different districts on the day. Among them, 646 people were arrested in various cases from 50 police stations of Dhaka metropolitan area.
Besides, 178 people were arrested under section 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as suspects and 17 people have been sent to jail from six police stations in Dhaka district, according to the general registration branch of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) and Chief Judicial Magistrate Courts of Dhaka.
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