Mirza Fakhrul detained, taken to DB office for 'questioning'

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been detained by law enforcement forces today, his wife Rahat Ara Begum said. 

"In the morning DB police people came to the house. Mirza Fakhrul talked to everyone in the house. Then they took the hard disk of the house and the building. Ten minutes later, they came back and arrested him. Mirza Fakhrul was very ill, his treatment was going on. I can't accept a 75-year-old man being detained like this," she said on Sunday (29 October).

Photo: TBS

Mirza Fakhrul's detention comes following deadly clashes between party activists with the ruling Awami League and police.

The AL, BNP and Jamaat took to the streets on Saturday, after convening their previously announced rallies in shows of strength. But the BNP postponed its rally at Nayapaltan around 2:15pm as police fired rubber bullets, flash grenades and teargas shells, forcing its leaders and activists to leave the venue.  

It has called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for today to protest the "police action on the gathering".

BNP media cell member Shairul Kabir Khan has also told the media that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been detained from his house at Gulshan by the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

DB Additional Deputy Commissioner (Gulshan Division) Hafiz Al Asad said they have taken Mirza Fakhrul for questioning.

He is currently being held at the DB office, he added.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Faruk Hossain said that Mirza Fakhrul will be shown arrested in a case, adding, "We are not informed yet which case Mirza Fakhrul would be shown arrested."

"He is being quizzed at the DB building regarding yesterday's violence and policeman's death," another DB official told TBS.

Cop, Jubo Dal man killed as BNP, Police and AL clash in city

"He [Fakhrul] has been brought to the DB office for interrogation. If anything is found during the investigation, it will be communicated later," Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman said while talking to reporters at the janaza of Constable Amirul Islam Parvez on Sunday.

He further said, "At least 113 policemen were also injured during yesterday's attacks. These incidents were orchestrated centring a rally, and multiple people are involved in the attacks. With these considerations in mind, we are actively seeking individuals for questioning as part of our ongoing investigation. As the investigation progresses, we will make further arrests based on the evidence we gather."

Footage of the building shows a group of people, wearing DB and police vests picked up Mirza Fakhrul from his home in a microbus.

Earlier, the party said police have surrounded the residences of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and its Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas to arrest them.

"Members of law enforcement forces are at BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's residence in Gulshan (H-18, Road-71, Gulshan-2) to detain him," said a media release signed by BNP Chairperson's media wing member Shamsuddin Didar on Sunday (29 October).

In another media release, the party claimed police have surrounded the residence of Mirza Abbas in the capital's Shahjahanpur.

"BNP's national Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas' house in Shahjahanpur has been surrounded by members of law enforcement agencies," it added.

DMP Assistant Commissioner (Gulshan Zone) Abdullah Al Masum said BNP leader Abdul Awal Mintu's younger son was arrested last night in a case.

Meanwhile, BNP is observing a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal, which began at 6am on Sunday (29 October), in protest of the recent police action during the party's Nayapaltan rally. The rally, held on Saturday, resulted in multiple BNP leaders and activists sustaining injuries.

Since Sunday morning, there has been a significant law enforcement presence in front of the BNP's central office located at Nayapaltan, Dhaka.

In response to the party's call for a hartal, police have cordoned off the BNP office using crime scene tape.