<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Three BNP leaders including Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, president of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the BNP's youth front, were arrested while returning from the party's divisional rally held in Rajshahi on Saturday.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The two other arrestees are Jubo Dal vice president Noor Islam Nayan and Tuku's personal assistant Mokhles.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed this matter at 11:10 pm Saturday night.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">He said that when they reached Dhaka's Amin Bazar area on their way back from the Rajshahi public rally, DB police waylaid and arrested them.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Rizvi strongly condemned and protested this incident and demanded their immediate release.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Sources said police have started an arrest drive across the country ahead of BNP's rally scheduled on December 10. A search operation is also underway in the capital.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">After the cocktail explosion in front of the BNP central office in the capital’s Nayapaltan on Saturday evening, police arrested several people from there as well, sources added.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">BNP's Naya Paltan office has also been kept under police surveillance. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>