Police have detained 13 BNP activists from Bosupara area of Khulna city when they came to meet the party’s senior leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy ahead of a planned public rally here, leaders alleged on Friday.

Khulna Metropolitan BNP Member Secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin said Gayeshwar, chief advisor of Khulna public rally coordination committee, came to Khulna on Thursday afternoon to join the party’s Khulna divisional rally. It is planned for Saturday.

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He is staying at the residence of a former Vice President of Bagerhat District BNP Kazi Khairuzzaman Shipon in Basupara.

In a drive through the area police held the 13 activists who came to meet Gayeshwar at night.

"Some people entered the house with sticks in their hands and pistols on their waists and created havoc. There was no way to understand whether they were police or not. They detained 13 people who came to see me,” alleged Gayeshwar.

Momtazul Haque, office-in-charge (OC) of Sonadanga police station, said they raided various places on Thursday night to detain people wanted in various cases.

“I can inform you in the morning who has been nabbed from which area, " he said on Thursday night.

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Meanwhile, Khulna metropolitan BNP convenor Shafiqul Alam Mona alleged that the police conducted drives at various houses and hotels in the city on Thursday night to detain their activists who arrived to join the rally.

Earlier on September 28, BNP announced to hold public rallies in 10 divisional cities in protest against the killings and filing of cases against the party leaders and activists, price hikes of fuel and daily essentials and demanding the unconditional release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The party already arranged two massive rallies in Chattogram and Mymensingh while the third one will be held in Khulna on Saturday.