BANGLADESH NEWS
The BNP-led alliance observed its countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal in a rather relaxed way yesterday.
A large number of motorised vehicles were seen plying Dhaka streets during the hartal and not too many pickets.
However, there were a few stray incidents of violence between the law enforcers and pro-hartal activists in the capital and a few other places in the country.
The BNP central office was cordoned off during the hartal hours. Law enforcers did not allow anyone to enter or exit the office.
Police picked up around 30 pickets in front of the party's central office in Nayapaltan yesterday.
The arrested pickets include Khairul Kabir Khokan, BNP Narsingdi district unit president, who was arrested in front of the BNP central office around 9:00am. Mizanur Rahman Minu, joint secretary general of BNP, was slightly injured as he got involved in a scuffle with law enforcers who were trying to get Khokan into a police van.
Khokan was later sent to jail after he was shown arrested in a blast case filed with Paltan Police Station on April 29.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police claimed that 19 people were arrested in the city during the hartal hours.
In Chittagong, neither picketing nor any untoward incidents were seen.
The alliance had called the hartal the day before demanding the return of BNP leader Ilias Ali, who has been missing since the wee hours of April 18, and release of the alliance's top leaders sent to jail by a Dhaka court on Wednesday in connection with arson.
On Wednesday, 33 opposition leaders, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were sent to jail in an arson case filed on April 29 with Tejgaon Police Station.
Yesterday a few homemade bombs went off, and a few incidents of vandalism and police detentions were reported in different parts of the capital.
Three homemade bombs went off at Mirpur-1 intersection around 7:30am while two exploded at Shahjahanpur intersection around 10:40am. The pro-hartal activists vandalised a vehicle near Mirpur-10.
Two battery-run three-wheelers were also vandalised near Khilgaon Flyover around 9:30am. Police detained two people from the spot in this connection.
Four Shibir activists were detained at Pallima Community Centre in Khilgaon and five others were arrested in Jatrabari.
However, a good number of minibuses and cars and a large number of CNG-run three-wheelers were seen plying the city streets. Rickshaws were found dominating the thoroughfares.
No intercity or long-distance buses set out from the capital since morning even though train and launch services were normal.
All educational institutions, business establishments, most shops and shopping malls on thoroughfares remained closed.
In Narayanganj, 20 pro-hartal activists were injured as police charged truncheons on a procession yesterday.
Police detained seven opposition activists, including local pro-BNP Jubo Dal convener Maksudul Alam Khandker Khorshed. Ten people, including BNP leader ATM Kamal were injured when police charged truncheons on the procession at Mondalpara.
Meanwhile, 10 activists were injured when police tried to prevent hartal supports from burning tyres on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sonargaon upazila of the district.
A few central leaders, among whom were Nazrul Islam Khan, Abdullah Al Noman, Zainul Abdin Farroque, Barkat Ullah Bulu, and Rehana Akhter Ranu, managed to enter the party central office during early hartal hours yesterday.
After the daylong hartal, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan in a press briefing at BNP central office said fresh agitation programmes would be declared today [Friday] after consultation with party Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The party's incumbent and former lawmakers were scheduled to observe a token hunger strike at 10:00am tomorrow at the Sangsad Bhaban complex.
On Monday, the BNP standing committee and 18-party alliance in a meeting had decided to observe a mass hunger strike on Sunday. However, no formal declaration was made in this regard and no details were given.
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