Day after Bangladesh violence, senior Opposition leader held

Dhaka, October 29

The police on Sunday arrested a senior leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a day after deadly clashes at an anti-government rally organised by his party claimed two lives, heightening tensions in the country ahead of the general election expected in January.

Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested from his home in the Gulshan neighbourhood, an official of the party’s press wing said. A policeman and a BNP activist were killed and more than 200 persons, including security personnel, were injured on Saturday as violence erupted during rallies called by the ruling and opposition parties in Dhaka.

The BNP, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, organised a grand rally here on Saturday demanding the resignation of PM Sheikh Hasina to allow free and fair elections under a non-party interim government. Hasina’s party also held a peace rally in response to the opposition rally. “We have taken him (Alamgir) to our custody for subsequent legal actions,” a spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s detective branch told reporters.