At least six activists of the main opposition Bangladesh National Party remained untraced till Thursday evening after being picked up by the police in Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar, the party alleged.
Most of the victims of disappearance after detention by law enforcers are involved in BNP’s associate bodies like Juba Dal, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Swechchhasebak Dal and have hold portfolios, party leaders said.
The untraced activists are Khaligaon thana unit Juba Dal’s former joint secretary Monir Hossain, Government Titumir College JCD leaders Mahmudul Hasan Rafiq and Saiful Islam, Cox’s Bazar Swechchhasebak Dal unit joint-secretary Soliman Badsha, his brother Selim and Chakaria upazila Juba Dal secretary Zakaria, said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Crackdown on the BNP continued as law enforcement agencies arrested over 365 leaders and activists in the past 24 hours till Thursday evening.
The police have been terrorising and harassing the family members of the BNP leaders and activists, while some of them cannot be traced after being picked up by law enforcers, alleged the BNP.
Meanwhile, three Dhaka metropolitan courts on Thursday sent BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, vice-chairmen Shahjahan Omar, Shamsuzzaman Dudu and media cell convener Zahir Uddin Swapan, to jail in three cases filed.
The leaders were in police custody in Detective Branch in violence cases.
Of them, Amir Khasru and Swapan were sent to jail by Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Rashidul Alam after the end of their six-day remand in a case filed for the killing of police constable Amirul Islam Pervej on October 28.
In a virtual briefing on Thursday, Rizvi said that that DB personnel picked up former Juba Dal leader Monir from near his house and in front of his pregnant wife and minor daughter at Khilgoan Sunday evening.
Monir remained untraced since the detention, Rizvi said.
He cited Monday detention of Mahmudul and Saiful, from their houses in Dhaka.
‘The police even came back to their house at about 4:00am on the same day and took them back after fetching their clothes, shoes and passports,’ he said, adding that the two JCD leaders are yet to be produced before the court.
Cox’s Bazar Swechchhasebak Dal leader Soliman, his brother Selim and Chakaria upazila unit Juba Dal secretary Zakaria have been missing for two days after being picked up by police, said Rizvi.
Rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra executive director Faruq Faisel told New Age that it seemed that there was no rule of law in the country.
Such raids, disappearance and harassment of political opponents’ family members mark gross violation on human rights and must be stopped right now, said Faruq.
The law enforcers have created an atmosphere of terror, he added.
Asked about, BNP’s allegation of the ‘enforced disappearance’, Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson and deputy commissioner Faruk Hossain said that the allegations were baseless.
He said that the police had obligation to produce the arrested before the court by 24 hours after detention and the force kept complying with the provision.
Faruk said that many BNP leaders were on the run and into hiding to avoid arrests since they are accused of violence cases. BNP kept claiming that hiding as disappearance.
DMP data show that the number of cases against BNP leaders and activists in connection with violence since October 28 reached 119 in the capital with over 2,000 people named in these cases along with several thousand unnamed people.
The DMP also arrested 2,407 BNP activists from October 21 until Thursday morning in violence cases, said DC Faruk.
The police have launched a crackdown against the main opposition BNP since the October 28 violence in the capital.
In a virtual briefing, BNP leader Rizvi said that another 365 leaders and activists of the party were arrested across the country in the past 24 hours until Thursday evening.
With the fresh arrests, about 9,881 leaders and activists of the party have been arrested in last two weeks in connection with the foiled October 28 grand rally with 186 cases filed, according to the BNP.
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