Sit-In Violence: Cops sue over 600 BNP activists, spare AL members
Hours after clashes between BNP supporters and law enforcers, who teamed up with ruling party activists, erupted at Dhaka city entrances on Saturday, police filed at least 13 cases against 628 named BNP leaders and activists and many unnamed others till yesterday.
Awami League supporters, who were seen attacking opposition members with sticks, rods and hammers, were neither arrested nor charged.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police said it has so far arrested 149 of the accused in the cases filed with different police stations across the capital, while the rest are absconding.
Meanwhile, four other cases were filed with Savar, Ashulia and Siddhirganj police stations outside the capital, accusing 96 named BNP activists and 600 unnamed others. Seven were arrested in Siddhirganj.
Different police stations have already produced 138 of the accused BNP activists before Dhaka courts yesterday. Of them, 28 were placed on one-day remand, while 13 were to be interrogated at the jail gate for a day.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said at least 700 people were detained in connection with Saturday's clashes, adding that anybody found innocent would be released.
As police and AL activists obstructed BNP's prescheduled sit-ins at all entry points to Dhaka, clashes erupted in Dholaikhal, Jatrabari, Matuail, Uttara and Abdullahpur, leaving scores of opposition members and at least 32 police officials injured, witnesses said.
During the clashes, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse the BNP activists.
The opposition party claimed over 300 of its leaders and workers were injured.
Several vehicles were set on fire and around dozen others vandalised.
Mashiur Rahman Ranga, president of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity, and its Secretary General Enayet Ullah in a statement yesterday claimed that seven vehicles were torched, while 24 were vandalised during BNP's sit-ins.
Md Sanaullah, driver of a Trisha Travels Bus that was torched in Matuail on Saturday, said three men on motorcycles ordered him to get off the bus before setting it ablaze with petrol.
"Will you get off the bus, or shall we set it on fire with you inside?" the driver quoted the arsonists as asking.
He immediately got out.
Asked about three people torching a bus in the presence of law enforcers, the home minister told journalists at the secretariat, "Police were able to catch the arsonists red-handed."
Clashes in some areas looked almost like "a joint operation" by AL leaders and police when they attacked BNP supporters, witnesses said.
Ruling party activists were seen attacking their rivals with sticks, rods and even hammers, they added.
Faruk Hossain, deputy commissioner (media) of DMP, said, "Awami League men took position at their party offices in a bid to protect the offices after BNP started the mayhem.
"They did not attack police, so I do not see any reason to file any case against them."
He said they would, however, scrutinise CCTV footages and if any ruling party member is found involved in violence, cases would be filed against them.
According to police documents, three cases were filed with Uttara East Police Station, two cases each with Uttara West and Jatrabari police stations, while one case each were filed with Kadamtali, Sutrapur, Airport, Bangshal, Darussalam and Demra police stations.
BNP leaders Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Aminul Haque, Nabiullah Nabi, Salah Uddin Ahmed and Jubo Dal President Sultan Salahuddin Tuku are among the 628 named accused.
In the cases, police brought charges of illegal gatherings, carrying dangerous weapons, deteriorating law and order, attacking police with intent to kill, hurling crude bombs at law enforcers, vandalising and setting fire to public and police vehicles.+
DHOLAIKHAL CLASH
Police tried to break up the gathering of BNP leaders and activists at Dholaikhal around 11:30am on Saturday when they tried to sit in.
BNP members were first seen retreating. But they regrouped later and many were seen chasing the cops away, which led to a 45-minute-long clash leaving several opposition activists injured.
BNP Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Senior Joint Secretary-General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka division Joint Organising Secretary Abdus Salam, and other leaders were present at the spot.
Gayeshwar suffered a head injury after brick chips were thrown at him. Witnesses said that after he fell to the ground, police were seen beating him.
He was then taken to the Detective Branch of Police's Minto Road office, where he was given food and then dropped home in the afternoon.
Police also picked up BNP leader Amanullah Aman from the city's Gabtoli, where the party was observing one of their scheduled sit-ins.
However, as he fell sick after being picked up, he was taken to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases for treatment.
Instructed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Assistant Personal Secretary-2 Gazi Hafizur Rahman Liku visited Aman at the hospital and handed over lunch and a bouquet of various seasonal fruits and juices sent by the PM, according to a PMO press release.
ABDULLAHPUR ATTACKS
Soon after BNP supporters took out a procession from the BNS Centre in Uttara's Sector-7 around 11:30am, ruling party activists swooped on them with sticks, iron rods and hammers. Police then joined in to disperse the opposition supporters.
Witnesses said it seemed "almost like a joint operation" by police and AL men against BNP activists, which left several opposition members injured.
The situation was "normal" after 1:00pm as police and AL members stood guard to chase away anyone from opposition.
MATUAIL MAYHEM
Matuail turned into a battleground as clashes erupted between BNP activists and ruling party activists, along with police, in and around the area.
The opposition initially planned their programme in front of Danila College at Jatrabari, but due to the huge presence of law enforcers and AL activists, they had to relocate to Matuail.
Witnesses reported that the first clash occurred around 11:30am between the cops and BNP members, who were holding a sit-in in front of the Institute of Child and Mother Health.
Police dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas shells and chasing them as they entered different alleys.
The clashes continued until 1:15pm in phases, and the traffic movement on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway was suspended till noon.
As the clashes came to an end, armoured police vehicles, including riot cars and Armed Personnel Carriers, were seen leaving the area.
Three buses, including a Gulistan-bound Swadesh Paribahan bus, a Turag Paribahan minibus, and a Trisha Travels bus, were torched at the spot.
SHYAMOLI CHAOS
Several vehicles, including a police van, were torched and vandalised in Dhaka's Shyamoli area during the sit-in there.
Witnesses said a group of people brought out a sudden procession, shouting slogans in favour of BNP around 1:00pm.
Meanwhile, in a press statement last night, BNP claimed that 650 of its activists were injured in Saturday's clash, while 250 other were arrested.
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