Withdraw ‘ghost cases’ against BNP men, party delegation tells IGP

The BNP today demanded that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) take steps to withdraw "ghost cases" filed against the party's activists across the country recently.

A BNP delegation led by the party's Vice-Chairman Barkatullah Bulu today met IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun at the Police Headquarters (PHQ).

BNP leaders handed a letter from BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to the IGP on the demand. The leaders said they attached a list of 169 "ghost cases" with the letter.

The four-member delegation went to PHQ in the afternoon and talked to the IGP about their December 10 rally and the recent arrests of party men.

The three other members are: BNP Joint Secretary General Moazzem Hossain Alal, Publicity Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie and Legal Affairs Secretary Kaiser Kamal.

"Members of police and Awami League men are exploding crude bombs but cases are being filed against BNP men. They are being arrested in ghost cases," Bulu told reporters after the one-hour meeting with the IGP.

"We have handed over a letter to the IGP on behalf of the Hon'ble Secretary General on these issues," he said.

"We wanted a remedy of the ghost cases and he [IGP] said he would look into those," Bulu added.

Asked whether the issue of BNP's Dhaka rally was discussed in the meeting, the senior BNP leader said police had raised the issue during the meeting.

"We said we want to do it [hold the rally] in Nayapaltan."

Bulu said BNP had sent two letters to the police on November 13 and November 20.

"In the two letters, we sought permission to hold the rally at Nayapaltan [where their party office is located]. We didn't want an alternate venue," he said.