DHAKA: Maximum senior leaders of opposition BNP have gone into hiding to avert arrest as the government decided to take tougher action against the opposition`s continuous agitation.
Party sources said many of the senior leaders have gone into hiding after police arrested party’s joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi from city’s Kakrail area on Monday night.
Panic sparked among the leaders as police on Monday afternoon raided the houses of BNP standing committee members Dr. Khondaker Mosarraf Hossain, Mirza Abbus and MK Anwar.
Earlier on Sunday night, police also swooped on BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and general secretary Shirin Sultana’s residences.
Unlike on other hartal days, Fakhrul and other top leaders were not seen in the party`s central office at Nayapaltan on Monday.
They had gone into hiding fearing arrests in two cases filed for explosions in the secretariat compound and the torching of buses on Sunday, sources said.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alammgir among a number of alliance leaders were made the accused of those cases.
Police filed two cases with Tejgaon and Shahbagh Thanas.
Fakhrul was made accused in the both cases. Some 38 opposition men were made accused in a case filed with Tejgaon Thana while 28 men in Shahbagh Thana case.
Sub-Inspector Hirendranath Pramanik filed second case with Shahbag Thana on Monday morning on charge of bomb explosion, vehicle vandalism and arson at secretariat.
Among the accused with Shahbag Thana, BNP standing Committee member Mirza Abbas, Dhaka City BNP convener Sadek Hossain Khoka, Liberal Democratic Party chairman Colonel Oli Ahmed MP, BJP chairman Barrister Andaliv Rahman Partha, Asifa Ashrafi Papia, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu, Juba Dal president Moazzem Hossain Allal, Swechhasebak Dal President Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel, Chhatra Dal president Sultan Salauddin Tuku.
In the case filed with Tejgaon Thana, LDP chairman, BNP standing committee member Brigadier general (retd) ASM Hannan Shah, Joint general secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Shahiuddin Chowdhury Annie, JAGPA president Shafiul Alam Prodhan, Juba Dal general secretary Saiful Alam Nirab were made accused.
Meanwhile, detective branch (DB) of police picked up Rizvi while he was returning from Naya Paltan central office of the party around 8:00pm on Monday.
He was made accused in two separate cases filed for exploding cocktails at Bangladesh Secretariat and torching a bus in the Prime Minister Office area on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, opposition BNP leader Kamruzzaman Ratan, also former Chhatra Dal leader, was shown arrested in two cases filed in connection with conducting subversive acts and torching bus during Sunday’s dawn-to-dusk hartal.
The law enforcing agency personnel picked up him while he was returning home after taking part at a TV talk-show in Desh TV in the night around 12:45am.
Two cases were filed against the BNP leader with Shahbagh and Tejgaon thana in connection with conducting subversive acts during hartal hours and torching vehicles in front of PM’s office.
The countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal, called by opposition BNP-led 19-party alliance, observed Sunday amid scattered incidents of violence, vehicle damage and arrests in the capital as well as across the country.
At least 16 cocktails were exploded in city’s secretariat, Dhaka district and session judge’s court, Malibagh, Sayedabad, Maghbazar, Mugda and Nababpur area during the hartal hours.
Pickets vandalized some 26 vehicles and torched four buses in city’s Mirpur-10, Jatrabari, Sahinbagh, Sabujbagh and Shahjahanpur during countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal in the day.
On April 24, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia gave an ultimatum to the government saying they would stage tougher and nonstop movement programmes if Elias Ali and his driver are not found by April 28.
Moreover, the four-day ultimatum to the government to find out the BNP leader ended in Saturday evening.
Opposition BNP then called countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for April 29 and 30.
Earlier, the opposition BNP earlier enforced hartal on April 22, 23 and 24 on the same issue.
BDST: 1001 HRS, MAY 1, 2012
Edited by: Maria Salam, Asst Output Editor
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