Bricks hurled at Sarjis Alam's motorcade in Sylhet; BNP denies NCP's allegation
NCP leaders alleged BNP and Chatradal activists were behind the attack, while BNP leaders denied the claim and said no party activists were involved.
A motorcade carrying National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders, including the party's Northern Region Chief Coordinator Sarjis Alam, came under attack in Sylhet's Golapganj Upazila today (30 July), with a brick thrown at one of the vehicles, damaging its rear windshield.
The incident occurred as the NCP delegation was leaving Golapganj Municipality Auditorium after meeting families of those killed during the July Uprising in 2024. The leaders were later scheduled to travel to Kanaighat to attend another programme.
According to local sources, a group of youths had gathered at Golapganj Chowmuhani ahead of the NCP leaders' arrival and chanted slogans including "fake, fake" and "NCP fake".
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When the motorcade left the venue, some youths allegedly moved towards the vehicles and hurled bricks, damaging one of the cars. No injuries were reported.
Golapganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Chhobed Ali said police intervened and dispersed the crowd.
"One person threw a brick at the passing vehicle. No one was injured," he said.
Sylhet Superintendent of Police (SP) Chowdhury Md Zaber Sadeque also said a brick was thrown at the vehicle while it was passing through the area, but no one was hurt.
NCP leaders alleged that BNP and Chhatra Dal activists were behind the attack.
In a Facebook post after the incident, Sarjis Alam alleged that "BNP terrorists" had attacked and vandalised their vehicles in Golapganj.
Later, speaking to journalists, Sarjis accused BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman of encouraging such attacks and questioned whether the BNP leader wanted to turn Chatradal into a "killing force" like the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League under the previous Awami League government.
NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary also alleged that the attack was carried out under direct instructions from BNP leadership, claiming that there was no rule of law in the country and people were not safe.
NCP central joint member secretary and lawmaker Mahmuda Mitu questioned whether Tarique Rahman wanted to eliminate July Uprising leaders and alleged that the attack was carried out in a coordinated manner.
However, Sylhet district BNP President and Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury rejected the allegations, saying no BNP leader or activist was involved in the incident.
"I had already instructed our party leaders and activists not to be provoked even if NCP leaders made derogatory remarks about BNP leaders during their visit to Sylhet," he said.
Kaiyum said the BNP supports allowing all political parties to conduct their programmes freely and has adopted a "zero-tolerance" policy against obstructing NCP activities in Sylhet.
Meanwhile, NCP Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, who attended a discussion at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) earlier in the day, condemned the incident and said the country was being pushed towards becoming a "haven for terrorism".
Referring to the recent attack on the party's July March programme in Habiganj and the incident in Golapganj, Nahid said the NCP would not step back from its demands for justice and reforms.
"We will go to Golapganj, we will stand there, and we will see how many terrorists there are," he told reporters.
The incident came a day after NCP leaders alleged attacks on their programme in Habiganj and claimed they faced obstruction by police in Moulvibazar.
Following the Golapganj incident, Sarjis Alam and other NCP leaders went to Sylhet Circuit House before leaving for Kanaighat to attend their scheduled programme.
