Police foil Friday march
The Awami League launches it three-day “mass no-confidence sit-in” in Dhaka today to paralyse the capital. The police Friday foiled its march in eight electoral constituencies.
The main opposition will begin the sit-in programme to intensify its current anti-government agitation to force the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led ruling alliance to leave office by April 30.
The opposition activists will begin the sit-in at four major points — Zero Point at Gulistan, Shapla Chattar at Motijheel, Sat Rasta at Tejgaon and Asad Gate on the Mirpur Road.
They would be sitting in the streets for the next three days on end, beginning from 10:00am.
The police have, meanwhile, continued its clampdown across the country. The police on Friday repeatedly attacked the opposition agitation programmes.
At least 20 people were injured in the attacks and 60 opposition workers were arrested during the march on Friday, sources in the Awami League said. Poor attendance also marked the opposition programme.
The riot police did not let any Awami League workers in the streets, resulting in fights between the police and the demonstrators. Private cars were damaged at two city points.
The police dispersed the marchers with baton charges and arrested a number of opposition activists during the programme.
The Awami League on Tuesday announced the march in Dhaka and demonstrations across the country along with a series of anti-government programmes to overthrow the ruling coalition government by the deadline.
The Awami League workers thronged eight city points, but police did not allow them to bring out processions.
The police either dispersed the demonstrators by charging them with truncheons or arrested them. Common people were also arrested in many cases.
The police cordoned off the Awami League’s central office. They intercepted Awami League presidium members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Suranjit Sengupta, and Dhaka city president Mohammad Hanif when they tried to lead procession of about 20 activists at about 5:00pm in front of the party office.
Intercepted by the police, Tofail addressed the press there and left the place at about 5:30 pm.
Awami League presidium member Abdus Samad Azad led a march from Dhanmondi in the afternoon.
But the police picked up a number of precisionists from the place. Azad later addressed a gathering there and condemned the police action. He demanded immediate release of the Awami League activists.
The police arrested the Khilgaon unit Awami League president Alamgir Chowdhury and general secretary Sharif Chowdhury at about 3:30pm when the party activists gathered near the Khilgaon Model College.
A group of Awami League activists later laid siege to the Khilgaon police station demanding release of the president and the general secretary.
The police a
gain chased the opposition workers at about 4:30pm. The dispersed opposition workers then damaged a number of motor vehicles in the area.
The police took Awami League presidium member Motia Chowdhury out of a gathering she was leading at the Dholaipar playground at Demra.
They also attacked the gathering, snatched the banners and festoons and arrested 12 marchers.
The Awami League workers could not organise the march at Sutrapur, Gulshan and Mirpur as the police had arrested the marchers well before they reached the meeting points.
The New Age correspondent in Khulna reported that the Khulna Awami League brought out a procession in the city, protesting against the raids of the residences of the Awami League central leaders in Dhaka.
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