Barbed-wire barricades on roads before BNP central office removed

The barbed-wire barricades put up on either side of the roads in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters by police have been removed, apparently allowing the party to reopen its office, reports UNB.

However, the collapsible gate of the BNP central office still remained locked from the outside and the party leaders and workers were not seen coming to the party office area till 4:00 pm on Tuesday.

Unlike the past days since October 29, law enforcers were also not taking a position in front of the BNP office on Tuesday. Some police members still remained deployed in front of Hotel Victory near the BNP office.

Police sources said the barbed-wire barricades were removed and those fences were taken to near Motijheel Model Police Station in the early hours of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman said the BNP itself locked its central office in the capital’s Nayapaltan.

“If BNP leaders want, they can carry out their activities in the office and there is no bar from our side,” the DMP chief said while replying to a question from reporters after visiting the people injured in various arson incidents at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Tuesday morning.

He said the members of the police remain deployed in front of the BNP office throughout the year for security reasons.

“As part of regular duty, police are guarding there. BNP locked its party office on October 28. However, they can carry out party activities in the office if they want,” the DMP boss added.

A huge number of law enforcers took a position in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office on October 28 following fierce clashes with police centring the party’s grand rally there.

Later on October 29, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) earmarked the areas in front of the main gate of the BNP office with the crime scene tape inscribed with “Do not cross’ to collect evidence from there for investigation into the severe political violence.

The CID members collected 11 types of evidence and sent those to the laboratory for test.

Two days later, the crime scene yellow tape was removed from in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, but the police set up barbed-wire barricades on roads on both sides of the office.

Half an hour after the start of BNP’s much-talked-about grand rally at Nayapaltan, the party’s leaders and workers locked into a clash with some ruling party activists and the police at Kakrail. With the passage of time, Nayapaltan and its adjacent areas turned into a battlefield, foiling the programme.