The convoy of National Citizen Party (NCP) chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary and chief organiser Sarjis Alam came under attack during the party’s “July March” programme in Habiganj on Tuesday afternoon.
The attack took place after the procession ended in Habiganj town. Several NCP leaders and activists were injured in the incident, with the party alleging that local BNP activists were behind the assault.
NCP leaders claimed the attack took place in the presence of police. They alleged that attackers followed a microbus carrying the party’s media team into the Habiganj District Circuit House premises and vandalised the vehicle. They also claimed that journalists’ mobile phones and cameras were taken away.
In a Facebook post, Patwary alleged that a group of Habiganj district Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activists, armed with hockey sticks, machetes, chains and other local weapons, launched a planned attack on their convoy.
He claimed that police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members were present during the incident but failed to intervene. He also alleged that Sarjis Alam was attacked and that several NCP activists sustained serious injuries, including broken hands and legs.
Condemning the attack, Patwary said those who resort to violence against political opponents “do not believe in democracy” and called for legal action against the attackers, their backers and those responsible for failing to prevent the incident.
NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, in a separate Facebook post, also alleged that BNP activists carried out the attack, injuring journalists and NCP members. He described the incident as a “serious example of political violence” and alleged that the media team’s vehicle was vandalised inside the circuit house premises.
NCP joint member secretary Saleh Uddin Sifat also claimed that local BNP activists carried out the attack on Patwary and Sarjis Alam’s convoy, leaving several journalists and party activists injured.