Police arrest five over Gopibag clash between AL, BNP

Police have arrested five people over clashes between Awami League and BNP activists during an election campaign in Gopibag.

Sohel, Tuhin, Bellal, Faruk and Munna were arrested on Sunday night with alleged ties to the clashes, said Assistant Commissioner Md Shamsuzzaman.

Four of them were named in the case filed by the Awami League members, said the police official.

He could not confirm the political affiliation of the arrestees.

Supporters of Ishraque Hossain, the BNP-backed mayoral candidate for Dhaka South, have clashed with the Awami League activists campaigning for two councillor candidates during an election rally on Sunday. The clashes left a number of people injured.

Both the Awami League and the BNP blamed each other for the incident.

Local Awami League leader Maksud Ahmed started a case with Wari Police Station over the incident.

Abdur Rahim, a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activist who had been injured in the clash, went to the police station but police refused to record his case, alleged BNP leader Abdus Salam.

No-one from the BNP approached him seeking to file a case, said duty officer Harun-Or-Rashid. He could not say whether his superiors were contacted by the party.

Masudul Haque, a spokesman for Returning Officer Abdul Baten, said Wari Police Station OC Azizur Rahman had been asked to investigate the incident and report back.

The Awami League named 50 people in the case.