Live Correspondent: The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party alleged on Thursday that law enforcers were harassing party leaders and activists ahead of their union-level road-march programme across the country on February 11.

At a press conference, Rajshahi district BNP member secretary professor Biswanath Sarkar said that the law enforcers had been harassing and intimidating their leaders and activists by filing false cases against them since their divisional mass rally in Rajshahi on December 3.

‘Police are harassing our party people again ahead of our road-march programme at the union level across the country on February 11. They are filing false cases against our people, raiding their houses at night, and intimidating them in different ways,’ he alleged.

Biswanath Sarkar said that they strongly protest such activities of the law enforcers and demanded an end to police harassment and intimidation and the withdrawal of the false cases filed against their leaders and activists.

Shahin Shawkat, assistant organising secretary of the Rajshahi district BNP, said that Awami League leaders had requested that they behave tolerantly and not cause any hindrance to their political rally in Rajshahi on January 3, where prime minister Sheikh Hasina will speak.

‘As the leaders and activists of a liberal democratic political party, we accepted their request and did nothing,’ he said, adding that yet the police were continuously filing false cases against the BNP supporters under the Explosive Substances Act.

Rajshahi district BNP convener Abu Sayed Chad said that police had filed five false cases against their 250 to 300 leaders and activists, including Shahin Shawkat and Rajshahi city Jubo Dal convener Masudur Rahman Liton, in the past two weeks under the Explosive Substances Act.

He said that police had also arrested seven of their party leaders recently in the cases. Chad demanded that they be released immediately and that the false charges be dropped.

Among others, Rajshahi BNP senior joint convener Saiful Islam, district BNP members Rokunuzzaman Alam, Ali Hossain, Sadar Uddin, Raihanur Alam, Golam Mostafa, and Mozaffar Hossain, former office secretary Shariful Islam, and Rajshahi district Jubo Dal convener Masudur Rahman were present at the press conference.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police chief information officer Rafiqul Alam could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts over the phone.

Dhaka, 10 February (campuslive24.com)// AZ