Case filed against Alal, 62 others

A case was filed on Saturday night with Mohammadpur Police Station against BNP leader Moazzem Hossain Alal and 62 other leaders and workers of the party for planning to carry out ‘subversive activities' in the city during Sunday’s nationwide hartal. Alal, the president of Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, and 62 others were arrested from Alal’s home at Lalmatia of Mohammadpur on Saturday. Mohammadpur Police Station's Sub-Inspector Masud Shikdar lodged the case. The police station's OC Azizul Haque said: 'They were holding a meeting at the basement of a Lalmatia building. We had information that the meeting was convened to plan violent activities during Sunday's strike. The raid was conducted on receiving that information.' Some Islamist parties called the daylong shutdown for today (Sunday) as their deadline for former telecoms minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui’s arrest lapsed. They wanted that the government arrest the sacked minister by Oct 22. Latif Siddiqui drew flak from various quarters after telling a New York programme on Sept 29 that he was averse to Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat. His rants on Holy Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat kicked off a wave of protests on the social media with many calling for his arrest and prosecution. He was dropped from the Cabinet and the ruling party, which initially sacked him from its policymaking Presidium, subsequently cancelled his party membership, according to a news agency.