Apparently rejecting Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner’s version over Sunday night’s crackdown on Hefajat activists, opposition BNP on Wednesday claimed that the country’s people could not take it into confidence.“I’m not sure what they (DMP, BGB and RAB officials) said today about that day’s drive was their own words from their belief or imposed by the government high-ups. But I can say the country’s people didn’t believe it and couldn’t take it into confidence,” said BNP chairperson’s adviser Shamsuzzaman Dudu.
He came up with his party’s instant reaction to the remarks of the top officials of the law enforcement agencies made at a press conference about the Shapla Chattar drive while addressing a press briefing about the 18-party’s hartal at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.
Earlier in the day, dismissing the allegation of mass killing and concealing bodies, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said there was no incident of killing during the operation at Shapla Chattar in the city.
“As no lethal weapon was used by law enforcers in the late night action to drive away Hefajat activists, there’s no possibility of killing at that time,” Benazir told the press conference at the DMP Media Centre. Col. Yahya Azam, Dhaka sector commander of BGB, Lt. Col. Zia, director (intelligence) of Rab were, among others, present at the press conference.
Dudu, who is acting as the BNP spokesman, sought an explanation from the government over the drive through a press note.
“We want to know how many people were killed on that day and the number of police, Rab and BGB members took part in the operation and the number of bullets, types of arms and armoured vehicles used in it and reason for conducting the operation in the darkness of night.”
When his attention was drawn to Awami League joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif’s claim that there had been no casualty during the drive, the BNP leader said his party is not serious about Hanif’s remarks rather they demand an official version from the government.
The BNP chairperson’s adviser said the daylong hartal observed across the country with people’s spontaneous participation.
He claimed that police arrested over 107 opposition activists across the country during the hartal hours on Wednesday, while more than 211 injured in attacks by law enforcers and ‘ruling party cadres’. “Besides, an activist was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment by a mobile court.”
Dudu also claimed that at least 15 opposition leaders and activists have been killed by law enforcers and the ruling party cadres at different parts of the country since Monday.
The BNP-led 18-party alliance enforced the daylong countrywide hartal for Wednesday and Thursday protesting the killing of unarmed Alems (Islamic scholars) in Sunday night’s crackdown on Hefajat-e-Islami sit-in at Shapla Chattar. banglanews24.com adds: Earlier Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said a quarter is spreading rumour over the death toll in Sunday’s Operation Flash Out at Shapla Chhatar.
“We found seven dead bodies from rally venue while one cop was killed and his gun was snatched by Hefajat-e-Islam activists,” he added.
He came up with the observation in a press briefing at DMP Media Center on Wednesday noon.
Benazir Ahmed, “The joint forces of police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh conducted the 10-minute-long flash out operation to disperse Hefajat activists from the venue as they were told earlier to leave the place.”
“We keep the east and north parts of Motijheel open so that Hefajat activists can flee through the ways and it was an officer-based operation,” he added.
He also said, “We live in the era of advanced technology and it is quite impossible to hide anything. Some people are spreading rumor through sharing edited photos in social communication sites.”
