Sporadic clashes broke out between the leaders and activists of de facto opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and police in front of the National Press Club in the capital as the party organised a rally to mark ‘Democracy Killing Day’ on 30 December (Wednesday) morning.
However, after several rounds of clashes, the rally began around 10:30am.
BNP has been observing 30 December as ‘Democracy Killing Day’ alleging vote rigging and irregularities in the 11th general elections that held on 30 December 2018.
The rally was supposed to begin at 11:00am but the party leaders and activists started gathering in the area from 10:00am. The law enforcement agency members were seen trying to keep the BNP leaders at one side of the road as the construction work of Metro Rail project is going on in the area.
When the opposition leaders and activists tried to go ahead ignoring the police obstructions, the law enforcement men started charging batons. At a stage, the BNP men also started throwing brick bats aiming police.
The leaders, however, asked the activists to remain peaceful. The rally resumed after around five minutes. The gates of the press club were kept shut since the morning but the eastern gate was opened after the clash subsided. A large number of BNP leaders and activists have taken position in and outside of the press club.
Assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Zone) SM Shamim told Prothom Alo that they requested the BNP men to maintain discipline for the sake of the lives and properties of people. Nothing more happened here. No one has either been detained in this connection, he added.
BNP’s Dhaka metro (north and south) units organised the rally that was presided over by the party’s joing secretary general and Dhaka south BNP president Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohel. BNP central leaders also have taken part in the rally.
