At least four individuals, including a pedestrian, were injured as three cocktail bombs were blasted during Thursday’s BNP rally in Chittagong.
The rally was held protesting the attack on the BNP office that happened on Wednesday.
Two of the injured were Ibrahim, a madrassa student of the Bagerhat district, and Shah Alam, a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activist. Police sources said they were unable to identify the other two injured.
During the rally, it is alleged that activists of the rival group blasted two cocktails at Naval Avenue road and one in front of the VIP tower. According to the police, Ibrahim received splinter injuries and was admitted into the Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
After the rally, offenders beat up Shah Alam, a JCD activist of the city’s Bayezid area, and fled scene, claimed another party activist, Md Harun. According to eyewitnesses, followers of Dr Shahadat beat up two other activists. However, the police was unable to confirm the incident.
Earlier on, thousands of BNP leaders and activists had crowded the party’s Chittagong city office at around 11am, protesting the attack on the party office the day before. On Wednesday, demanding the suspension of the new committee, a group of JCD activists who were not assigned posts in the new JCD Chittagong city unit committee carried out arson, vandalism and exploded cocktail bombs inside the party office.
Regarding the incident, Dr Shahadat Hossain, general secretary of the BNP Chittagong city unit, said: “It is assumed that outsiders conducted the violence but if anyone from the party is involved with the incident they will take action them through organisational procedures.”
Meanwhile, a case was lodged with the Kotwali police station accusing unidentified individuals of the attack on the BNP office. Officer-in-Charge AKM Mohiuddin Selim of the station said Vice-president Shamsul Alam of the BNP Chittagong city unit lodged the case yesterday morning and five were arrested.
VPs of the BNP Chittagong city unit, Shamsul Alam and Abu Sufian, and the president of JCD’s new committee, Gazi Md Siraz Ullah, were present at the protest rally.
