The police on Thursday night arrested 57 leaders and activists of the BNP in Gazipur for their alleged involvement in a secret meeting planning sabotage ahead of the party’s rally on Saturday.
Additionally, a case was filed against 149 persons, including 80 unnamed individuals.
Police also seized 2 litres of petrol, homemade torches, batons, SS pipes and other materials used for sabotage during the arrests.
The detentions took place following a meeting at the residence of Sramik Dal President Salahuddin Sarkar in the Dattapara area of Tongi. Later that night, the police showed 57 individuals arrested in the case.
BNP leader Asaduzzaman Asad, former president of Gacha thana BNP in the Gazipur metropolis, fell ill while in custody and was transferred to Gazipur’s Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital after initial treatment at Tongi’s Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital.
Tongi East police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mustafizur Rahman on Friday confirmed the arrests and the subsequent case filed under the Special Powers Act of 1974.
Due to limited space in Tongi East police station, some of the arrested activists were taken to Tongi West police station and Gacha police station.
