Police yesterday afternoon detained BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman and “12 other” party leaders and activists near home of Hasan Uddin Sarkar, BNP mayor candidate in Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) polls. 

However, the law enforcers released Noman last night after an interrogation. They were still interrogating the others.

A team of plainclothes and uniformed policemen of Tongi Police Station detained them, hours after the High Court deferred the GCC elections, scheduled for May 15, for three months.

Talking to The Daily Star, the police station's Officer-in-Charge Kamal Hossain said they released the BNP Vice-Chairman around 11:000pm but kept the others for questioning.

He said the number of detainees might increase as they were “continuing their drive” and kept policemen deployed in front of Hasan's house.

Several BNP leaders and activists remained confined to the house as of filing of this report at midnight, according to our Gazipur correspondent.

Additional Superintendent of Police in Gazipur Russel Sheikh said, “Noman and some of his associates were detained in connection with vandalism of vehicles, obstructing traffic, and creating panic yesterday.”

He could not say how many people were detained, although the BNP leaders in Gazipur claimed that the number was 12.

Gazipur BNP President Fazlul Haq Milon outright rejected the police claim of vandalism.

He said Noman and other BNP leaders had gone to Hasan's home to hold a press conference after the HC had deferred the polls.

“After the end of the press conference, our leaders were coming out of Hasan's home around 5:30pm when Tongi police detained them,” Milon said, adding that a total of 12 BNP-men had been detained.

Milon told the newspaper that several hundred law enforcers cordoned off Hasan's home confining many party leaders and activists, including him.

Asked about the matter, ASP Russel said police could stay at any place if they feared deterioration of law and order. He, however, refuted the claim that police cordoned off Hasan's house.