Since Sunday morning, the Detective Branch (DB) of Police has been conducting searches at the homes of multiple senior BNP leaders.
The law enforcement agency has so far searched the residences of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Mirza Abbas, and Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal.
After their initial search, DB detained BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
He was detained from his house in Dhaka's Gulshan area at around 9:30am, Shamsuddin Didar, a member of the BNP chairperson's press wing, confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam’s wife, Rahat Ara Begum, said some DB officers arrived at their residence in the morning, and the BNP leader talked to all of them.
Later, they confiscated hard disks from both the house and the building. Ten minutes later, they came back and took Mirza Fakhrul.
DB Additional Deputy Commissioner (Gulshan Division) Hafiz Al Asad said that they have brought in Mirza Fakhrul Islam for questioning.
Meanwhile, Amir Khasru's son Israfil Khasru said some members of the DB police came to their house at 9:30am and conducted a search till 11am.
“They did not show us any search warrant, but we cooperated with them. They took my mother's phone and my father's passport. They returned them a bit earlier,” he added.
He added: “They asked us where my father was and we told them that he did not return home from the rally yesterday. We don't know where he is now.”
BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal's Lalmatia residence was being searched, the BNP press wing said.
Later in the afternoon, some DB officers searched the Gulshan residence of BNP Foreign Relations Committee member Ishraque Hossain.
However, as the politician was not at home, the DB police picked up Hossain's younger brother Ishfaq Hossain, and driver Rajib.
The major opposition political party BNP has called a nationwide hartal (strike) from dawn to dusk on Sunday to protest against the police action in breaking up anti-government protests in Dhaka's Kakrail area on Saturday
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced that the strike would start at 6am and continue till 6pm during the party’s rally at Naya Paltan on Saturday.
