Police detained former minister Latif Siddique and several others after tensions erupted during an event organised by ‘Manch 71, a platform of freedom fighters, in the capital on Thursday.
A group of youths, identifying themselves as ‘July Fighters’, handed them over to police around 12pm as they were allegedly trying to create chaos at the event at Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), witnesses said.
‘Manch 71’ organised a roundtable titled ‘Our Great Liberation War and the Constitution of Bangladesh’. Freedom fighters, lawyers, writers, journalists, teachers and former bureaucrats attended the event.
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Lawyer ZI Khan Panna, one of the organisers, said, “If events cannot be held even at a place like Dhaka Reporters Unity then where does the freedom of expression in this country exist? Everyone knows these incidents take place at the behest of those in power.”
Television footage showed Siddique sitting quietly on a chair while angry people surrounded him shouting slogans.