After holding a meeting for two hours with Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khondker Golam Faruk on Thursday night, BNP leaders are yet to decide where they will hold their upcoming divisional rally in Dhaka—Kamlapur Stadium or Mirpur Bangla College Ground.
After the meeting, BNP Vice President Barkat Ullah Bulu told UNB that they were going to visit the two venues and will finalise their decision about holding the rally in any of the venues in consultation with their party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the standing committee members.
Read: Nayapaltan clash: 445 BNP activists including Rizvi, Annie sent to jail, 2 get bail
“We’re now going to visit the two venues and if we can choose any one of them then we’ll talk to our party senior leaders,” Bulu said.
Bulu said that they also discussed with DMP authorities about Wednesday’s police action, raid at their party office and arrest of their party leaders and activists.
“We told them (DMP officials) to reopen our office and they (Police) said that the office will be reopened and BNP leaders and activists can go there,” Bulu added.
The BNP leader further said that they raised the issue of the release of their arrested party leaders during the meeting. In return, DMP officials said that two of the arrested leaders have already received bail and police won’t file remand prayers against the rest and the arrested BNP leaders may get bail soon.
Earlier, a six-member BNP delegation led by Bulu went to the DMP Commissioner’s office and held the meeting.
The BNP delegation included Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali, Advocate Ahmed Azam Khan, Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain and Barrister Kaysar Kamal.
Read: No rally to be allowed on streets: Home Minister
On Wednesday, police fired teargas and used batons during a clash with BNP activists at Nayapalton, leaving a man dead and 50 others injured.
Police arrested over 150 BNP leaders and activists including BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, its south city unit convenor Abdus Salam, joint secretary general Khairul Kabir Khokon, north city unit convener Amanullah Aman after conducting a drive in the BNP office.
The clash broke out around 3 pm when slogan-chanting BNP leaders and activists took position outside the party office and defied police order to leave the place, witnesses said.