BNP, Jamaat men implicated in 106 more cases, after dialogue with PM

Some 106 cases have been filed against the leaders and activists of the BNP-led 20-party alliance between 1 and 10 November, police records shows.

BNP leaders alleged that all these cases are false and fictitious and said cases were filed to harass the BNP leaders and activists.

During the dialogue with prime minister at her official Ganabhaban residence on 1 November, the BNP leaders pointed out that BNP leaders and activists are being implicated in false cases.

In response, the prime minister assured them that no new cases will be lodged to harass anyone politically.

But six cases were filed with six police stations in Dhaka on 6 November, the day the Jatiya Oikya Front held a rally at Suhrawardi Udyan.

According to records, the incidents of vandalism, attacks on police, sabotage and blasting cocktails were mentioned in the case statements.

The police detained 138 BNP men in connection with the incidents from the spots of the occurrences.

The authenticity of law enforcers’ version was not found to be true, according to Prothom Alo’s investigation. Locals in those areas expressed surprise after hearing the statements of the police.

“It’s not fair to implicate anybody in false case and without any specific allegation,” National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque told Prothom Alo.

The police reportedly saw some people to blast cocktails and vandalise vehicles at Kadamtali intersection of Keraniganj on 6 November. The locals, however, said they did not hear any sound and chaos. Kadamtali was under police control on the day.

In connection with the allaged incident of vandalism, the police detained 13 people.

The local people, however, said the police detained some people aboard vehicles.

According to Prothom Alo correspondents of different districts, between 1 and 10 November, some 100 cases were filed against BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists in Chandpur, Cumilla, Dinajpur, Jalakhati, Kushtia, Sylhet, Barishal, Bagerhat, Sherpur, Kishoreganj, Tangail, Mymensingh, Sirajganj, Brahmanbaria, Narail, Nagaon, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Bandarban and Chattogram districts.

Some 2,380 people were implicated and over 2,500 unnamed made accused in the cases.

BNP leaders, however, claimed that all of these cases are fictitious as there is no authenticity of these cases. These cases were filed to confine BNP leaders and activists, they said.

Jhalakhati district unit BNP general secretary Monirul Islam said during the dialogue, the prime minister assured the opposition leaders that no new cases will be filed before the parliamentary elections, but there is no implementation of her pledge.

He alleged that new cases are being filed and leaders and activists being arrested to stop the opposition from the election activities.

A writ petition has been filed with the higher court in connection with the fictitious cases. Jatiya Oikya Front leaders have handed over a list of fictitious cases to the prime minister.

After the dialogue with the prime minister, Prothom Alo investigated six cases filed in Dhaka on 6 November.

According to a case statement of Tejgaon police station, on 6 November, BNP leaders and activists along with sticks took position in front of RH Home Centre Building at Green Road to carry out vandalism. They allegedly vandalised human haulers. A human hauler, six brick chips and pieces of broken glass of human haulers were seized from the spot, as per the case statement.

A person named Sentu sells tea in front of RH Home Centre. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said his shop was open on 6 November. He did not notice any vandalism of human hauler on the day.

Tejgaon police station sub-inspector Shariful Islam, the complainant of the case, said the incident occurred within a brief period of time. So nobody noticed it, he added.

The human hauler stand is at the end of Green Road. The Workers Federation runs this stand. Organising secretary of the federation, Monir Hossain, said no incident of vandalising human hauler occured recently.

Owner of the seized human hauler Saddam Hossain said the driver of the human hauler went to take tea leaving the human hauler in front of RH Home Centre.

On return, he found the police took the human hauler to the police station. Later, they brought the human hauler home from the police station.

The police had shown some 41 people arrested from the spot.

• This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam