Road to BNP office in Naya Paltan closed again

Traffic has been restricted since 7 am in an effort to ensure 'public safety and security', according to police

Police have once again closed the road passing through the BNP headquarters in Dhaka's Naya Paltan less than a day after reopening it to traffic.

Traffic has been restricted since 7 am on Friday in an effort to ensure 'public safety and security', according to police officials.

Barbed-wire barricades have been put up at the Nightingale and Fakirapool intersections to bar entry to the road. Only people with valid reasons to access the road are being let through after a check of their ID cards.

A long line of policemen stood guard outside the BNP office as dozens of armoured vehicles and prison vans dotted the otherwise deserted road.

Police initially blocked the road on Wednesday in the wake of a violent clash between law enforcers and BNP loyalists, who had gathered outside the party's central offices to prepare for a divisional rally on Dec 10. The clash led to the death of an activist.

Police later fired teargas shells and charged with batons to disperse the crowds as several rounds of crude bomb explosions rang out in the area. The road was subsequently closed as police conducted a search of the BNP office and reportedly found a cache of crude bombs.

The office was later cordoned off as police declared the area a 'crime zone'. The police blockade continued into Thursday and no one was allowed entry into the office, with the BNP's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir being turned away at the Nightingale intersection.

The roadblock was eventually lifted as 4 pm on Thursday, allowing normal traffic to resume.

The BNP had previously announced that it would hold its divisional rally at Naya Paltan on Saturday.