Police stop BNP rally

Police on Thursday stopped a rally organised by BNP’s Dhaka city unit in protest against a spate of abductions and murders across the country. The rally was to start at 4:00pm at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), and party Chairperson Khaleda Zia was to attend it as the chief guest. “Senior officials of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have said ‘We would not be allowed to let them (BNP) hold the rally.’ They did not obtain permission for the rally following the rules, the police officials said. BNP’s Dhaka metropolitan unit’s member secretary Abdus Salam said the police are preventing them from holding the rally. Salam said they had obtained permission from the IEB authorities. They had also given a letter to the DMP seeking permission to stage the rally, he said. Noted citizens, editors, senior journalists and foreign envoys were invited to the rally, Salam said. The party activists were preparing the stage at the auditorium since morning. When contacted, a DMP official said they had received a letter regarding the permission from the DMP headquarters on Wednesday. However, he said, a rally cannot be held on a one-day notice, according to agencies.