After a daylong hartal on Sunday, BNP has announced countrywide blockades for three consecutive days starting on October 31 (Tuesday) to press home their one-point demand and to protest the attacks on the party’s Nayapaltan grand rally on Saturday.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement of the fresh programme at a virtual press briefing on Sunday evening.
He said the blockades will be observed on October 31, November 1 and 2 across the country to register BNP’s protest against the attack on its Nayapaltan grand rally, killings of its leaders and workers, arrest of over 1,000 opposition leaders and activists of different parties, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, raids on their houses and repression on them.
"The all-out blockades will be observed on roads, railways and waterways," Rizvi added.
Miscreants set BNP office on fire in Khulna
Rizvi said a Jubo Dal leader, Shamim, was killed in firing during the attacks on BNP’s rally at Nayapaltan on Saturday by the police and Awami League cadres.
He also claimed that the 'cadres' of Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League beat Adabar thana Abdur Rashid mercilessly and killed him brutally by throwing him from an under-construction building when he was returning home after observing the hartal peacefully on Sunday.
Besides, Rizvi said the wife of Faridpur's Nagarkanda unit BNP leader died of cardiac arrest during the police raid on their house on Saturday while journalist Rafique Bhuiyan succumbed to his injuries after receiving bullets in police firing at BNP’s grand rally on Saturday.
He also protested the arrest of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the raids on the houses of party senior leaders, including standing committee members Mirza Abbas and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
The BNP leader said police arrested 960 leaders and workers of their party and its associate bodies while around 30,000 were injured by the attacks of law enforcers and ruling party men centring its grand rally and Sunday’s hartal.
Police conduct drives at several senior BNP leaders’ homes in Dhaka
He said 20 cases were also filed against the opposition leaders and followers during the period.
Meanwhile, the nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal, enforced by the BNP protesting the attacks on its grand rally at Nayapaltan ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday announced the day-long nationwide shutdown as their grand rally was foiled following the violent clashes between law enforcers and opposition activists.