JaPa office arson, vandalism: Gono Odhikar denies involvement, says protesters left Paltan after rally
The Gono Odhikar Parishad has dismissed allegations of the party's involvement in the incident of vandalism and arson attack today (30 August) on the Jatiyo Party's central office in Kakrail.
"This was not our doing. Our party leaders and activists had already left the area after completing the demonstration in Dhaka's Purana Paltan near its central office," Gono Odhikar Parishad's senior leader and Media Coordinator Abu Hanif told The Business Standard this evening.
"Officially, we had no programmes scheduled anywhere near the JaPa office," he added.
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Asked about the incident of protesters vandalising and setting fire to the Jatiyo Party office in Kakrail, Abu Hanif said, "Perhaps agitators did so in light of yesterday's incident, and due to anger against the party over the last 15 years under a fascist regime."
Earlier on the day, police used sound grenades and water cannons and charged batons to disperse protesters from Kakrail after they vandalised and set fire to the Jatiyo Party office.
Members of the police and alleged supporters of Gono Odhikar Parishad Nurul Haque Nur locked into a clash at the Bijoy Nagar area.
Ramna Police Station Officer-in-Charge Golam Faruk told TBS that 7-8 individuals, who were activists of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, set fire in front of the Jatiyo Party office.
Jatiyo Party's Dhaka district Organising Secretary Laizul Islam also alleged that around 6:30pm, Gono Odhikar Parishad leaders and activists barged into their office, vandalised it, and set it on fire.
In the afternoon, leaders and activists of the Gono Odhikar Parishad held a demonstration in Purana Paltan near its central office to protest yesterday's attack on the party's president, Nurul Haque Nur.
