BNP demonstrates at Naya Paltan calling for Khaleda’s release

The BNP has staged a sit-in in the capital calling for the release of its Chairperson Khaleda Zia, now behind bars in a graft case.

The leaders demonstrated for an hour outside their headquarters in Naya Paltan at 11am Tuesday.

They had to change venue twice due to police’s reluctance, claimed Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the party.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Khaleda’s Adviser Abul Khayer Babul, Abdus Salam, and Vice-Chairman Khandaker Mahbub Hossain joined the protests.

Leaders of the 20-party alliance arrived from all across the country.

The leaders and activists chanted slogans calling for Khaleda’s release.

A human chain was formed on the same cause on Monday outside the National Press Club.

The protests have stemmed from a verdict in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case that has landed Khaleda in jail for five years.

BNP demonstrated across the country on the weekends after the verdict was announced on Feb 8. A three-day protest programme was announced on Saturday.

On Monday night, the BNP said it had secured permission from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to demonstrate at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh on Tuesday.

“Police granted us permission on Monday night but IEB authorities were not informed. So again we changed our venue,” Rizvi told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.

A large number of police personnel, DB troops and water cannons were seen in position near the protest scene.