Police detained 16 BNP leaders while they were holding a meeting in Bangla Motor area of Dhaka this afternoon.

Maruf Hossain Sordar, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna zone), told The Daily Star that the leaders and activists were detained from ‘Rupyan Tower’ following a lead that they were holding a clandestine meeting.

Meanwhile, BNP said the leaders of Dhaka South unit BNP were holding a meeting on preparation of the movement for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s release and to devise a strategy on Gazipur and Khulna city election campaign. Police detained them moments after the meeting was started, reports the Bangla daily Prothom Alo quoting BNP sources.

Soon after the detention, BNP in a press statement said that police arrested Senior Vice-Chairman of Dhaka South unit of BNP M Shamshul Huda, its acting secretary general Habibur Rashid Habib, Vice-Chairman Md Yunus Mridha, Joint Secretary Generals Golam Hossain, KM Zobair Ezaz, Alamgir Hossain and Farukul Islam, Organising Secretary Saiful Islam Patu, Ward Commissioner Rafiqul Islam Russel, Joint Secretary General Jamilur Rahman Nayan and others.

Condemning the detention of the party leaders, Habibunnabi Khan Sohel, president of the Dhaka South unit BNP, said: "It seems to me that the government has undertaken a plan to eliminate BNP's political existence."

He also demanded immediate and unconditional release of the detained BNP leaders.