BNP claims leaders, including Organising Secretary Dulu, picked up by police
Dulu was picked up by police from his residence in Gulshan around 11:30pm, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told The Business Standard.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has picked up two BNP leaders, including its Organising Secretary Ruhul Quddus Talukdar Dulu, on Tuesday night, senior leaders of the party has claimed.
Dulu was arrested from his residence in Gulshan around 11:30pm, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told The Business Standard.
Efforts to reach Detective Branch Additional Commissioner Haroon Or Rashid for comments on Ruhul Kuddus Dulu's detention were unsuccessful, while Mirpur zone assistant commissioner of DMP, Hassan Muhammad Mohtarim, said he had no information regarding any arrest of BNP leaders.
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There are over a hundred cases pending against Dulu, but he is currently on bail for all of them, said his personal assistant Roni.
He said Dulu has been battling cancer and recently returned home after undergoing treatment in Singapore.
The senior BNP leader requires weekly chemotherapy along with other regular medications, causing concern for his family over his detention, Roni added.
Another BNP leader Abul Kalam Azad, convener of the Jatiyatabadi Tati Dal, has also been arrested, claimed party leaders.
Azad was arrested around the same time as Dulu in front of his business establishment in Shewrapara, BNP Chairperson's Press Wing member Shamsuddin Didar told TBS.
Shamsuddin also claimed that the police are conducting extensive searches in residential hotels around the BNP central office in Nayapaltan.
He said such operations are aimed at instilling fear and confusion among party leaders and activists in the wake of a scheduled rally in front of the BNP central office on Wednesday afternoon (18 October).
In response to queries about the raids in Paltan and certain areas of Dhaka, Golam Ruhani, assistant commissioner of Motijheel zone of DMP, said the police routinely conduct such operations to apprehend criminals.
The claims of the arrests of the opposition leaders come amid reports that BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and some other opposition parties are planning to organise a blockade of Dhaka in what they say is "the final attempt to overthrow the Awami League government".
According to sources, an announcement in this regard may come from BNP's planned rally on Wednesday (18 October), and the government will be given a week's deadline to resign.
Meanwhile, as the BNP is planning to intensify its ongoing movement, the ruling Awami League is also gearing up to counter any opposition activities against the movement.
The AL says its leaders and activists will maintain a "tougher stance" from now on and will not allow the BNP-Jamaat men to take control of the streets by any means.
The ruling party has made comprehensive preparations to counter the BNP's possible attempts to enforce a blockade of Dhaka, said its leaders.
As part of its plan to counter the BNP's movement, the AL's Dhaka South and North units have scheduled a "Peace and Development Rally" at the southern gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka on Wednesday.
AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader has warned BNP activists of dire consequences if they attempt to initiate a blockade.
