The BNP on Wednesday accused the government of vandalising and setting fire to vehicles during the countrywide shutdown.
Party’s Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed denied the allegations that the opposition activists were involved in such attacks.
He alleged that the government was carrying out a ‘planned sabotage’ to destroy democracy.
“The people are observing the shutdown across the country. We have reports that police and ruling party activists have opened fire on general people by the order of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” he said in front of the BNP’s Naya Paltan headquarters.
Asked about the arson attacks, he said that torching vehicles was an ‘old tactic’ of the government. “They (the government) are putting blames on the opposition for these [arson] attacks.”
He said, “This sabotage is created by police.”
At least 10 vehicles were reportedly torched across the country on Tuesday before the opposition’s 36-hour shutdown began.
On Mar 17, at least 20 vehicles were set ablaze in the capital alone on the eve of an opposition-backed shutdown.
Jamaat-e-Islami, a key ally of the BNP, has resorted to violence since last November demanding a halt to the war crimes trials. Several top leaders of the fundamentalist party are standing trials on charges of serious crimes involving the nation’s independence war. During their protests, a large number of vehicles had been vandalised and torched.
Media reports suggest, at least 400 vehicles were torched across Bangladesh from November to Mar 17 during the opposition-sponsored programmes. Nearly 3,000 vehicles were also vandalised.
The violence also targeted the railway sector. During the period, there have been 92 incidents of attacks on the sector. The opposition activists had also attacked the law keepers and their vehicles. Fire services’ vehicles were also torched.
On Wednesday, police cordoned off the BNP headquarters like previous shutdowns. The main gate of the office remained closed.
Salahuddin Ahmed and Deputy Office Secretary Abdul Latif Jony and several other leaders came down in the morning to talk to journalists.
Ahmed alleged the law enforcers were not letting their activists enter the headquarters.
BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came to the party office around 6am and has been at his chamber since then.
Apart from police and detectives, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members took position near the Naya Paltan headquarters. Water canons and prison vans were called in.
Salahuddin accused the government of making efforts to destroy democracy through anarchy.
“We (the 18-Party alliance) are observing the strike demanding an end to the government’s indiscriminate killings and release of our detained party activists,” he said.
The BNP leader said the government will not be able to thwart their movement by opening fire and detaining the opposition activists.
He said they would brief the journalists in the afternoon.
The BNP and its allies have called a 36-hour countrywide shutdown for Wednesday and Thursday ignoring calls by the businesses. The group seeks release of their activists detained during a raid on the BNP headquarters on Mar 11.
Source: bdnews24