DB claims recovery of weapons, bombs in BNP central office raid after explosion in Naya Paltan

BNP student leader Kazi Raonkul Islam Shravan is among seven arrested during the raid, says the DB chief

The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has recovered weapons and crude bombs during a raid in the BNP's central office following a series of explosions in Dhaka's Nayapaltan.

Seven individuals, including Kazi Raonkul Islam Shravan, former president of BNP's student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and currently a member of BNP's executive committee, were arrested during the raid around midnight on Tuesday.

Detective police recovered more than 100 cocktails, 500 sticks, seven local and foreign firearms, and several bottles of petrol from the BNP office, said DB chief Harunor Rashid.

The anti-quota movement, ongoing for the past two weeks, has escalated into violence. Students and job-seekers have been blocking roads since Tuesday afternoon.

Six people were reported dead amid the clashes in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Rangpur on Tuesday.

According to the DB chief, BNP and its associate organisations have instigated the quota movement. They marched in different places on Tuesday, torched buses, and exploded cocktails. In response to this, the intelligence branch raided the BNP office and recovered a huge amount of cocktails, firearms and sticks.

Additional Commissioner Rashid said some are supporting the quota movement through financial contributions, while others are supplying water and weapons.

“We have identified each of them. The anti-liberation clique is trying to divert the movement in a different direction,” he said.