25 Awami League activists arrested for planning to release 100,000 balloons in Dhaka

Police say the activists planned to release the balloons between Monday and Wednesday

Police have arrested 25 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliate organisations on charges of planning to release 100,000 balloons in Dhaka.

Citing the initial interrogation of the arrested persons, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) media statement on Sunday said they aimed to create panic among members of the public by taking out a procession in Dhaka and disrupting law and order.

The arrested persons had also planned to release gas balloons bearing Awami League slogans around the chief advisor’s residence Jamuna and other different places in Dhaka between Monday and Wednesday, police added.

The police's Detective Branch (DB) officers conducted drives in different areas of Dhaka in the past 24 hours and arrested them.

Members of the former ruling party and its affiliated groups, whose activities have been suspended, have been holding flash processions across the country, including in Dhaka.

Jahangir Kabir Nanak, an Awami League Presidium member residing in India, recently announced a “lockdown”-style programme for Nov 13.