A BNP leader has died after being detained during a raid in Jibannagar Upazila of Chuadanga, triggering protests by local party leaders and activists, reports bdnews24.com.
The victim -- Shamsuzzaman Dablu, 55 -- was the general secretary of the Jibannagar municipal unit of the BNP.
Family members and police said Shamsuzzaman was detained by members of the Army around 10:30pm on Monday from his drugstore, Hafiza Pharmacy, in front of the Jibannagar Upazila Health Complex. After questioning at the Upazila BNP office, he was taken to the health complex, where doctors declared him dead around 11:30pm.
Citing local BNP leaders and the victim's family members, Chuadanga Police Superintendent Mohammad Monirul Islam told bdnews24.com the leader was detained in an Army drive at night.
He said police were not a part of the drive and became aware of the matter only after the body brought to the hospital.
"Relatives and BNP leaders and activists demonstrated at the hospital. We have visited the place of occurrence," said Monirul.
The body was sent to the Chuadanga Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem, he added.
In a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate the incident was described as "unwanted, regrettable, and in no way acceptable".
The statement said the camp commander and all Army personnel involved in the operation had already been withdrawn to the cantonment.
BSS adds: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today sought army chief's intervention regarding the 'murder' of Shamsuzzaman Dablu, General Secretary of the BNP Jibon Nagar Municipality unit in Jhenaidah, by the members of security forces.
The BNP secretary general expressed deep sorrow and grief over this inhuman and barbaric incident.
He said, "We believe that such incidents perpetrated by members of the security forces are not good for the country. Torturing and killing Shamsuzzaman Dablu extrajudicially is a gross disrespect to the existing law of the land."
"It is the expectation of the people that during the tenure of the current interim government, punishment for any crime will be ensured through judicial process," he added.
Fakhrul said, taking him (Shamsuzzaman Dablu) away in the name of recovering arms and subjecting him to inhuman torture and killing him is never acceptable to the people of the country.
"I seek the intervention of the Chief of Army Staff regarding such a horrifying and tragic incident," he said.
He strongly condemned and protested this barbaric incident and expected justice through a fair investigation immediately.
The BNP secretary general prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to his bereaved family members.
