<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">BNP in the early hours on Friday claimed that plainclothes police picked up its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital city.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">BNP’s Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said that a team of Detective Branch (DB) of Police went to Fakhrul’s Uttara house at the dead of night and picked him up around 3:00 am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said another team of the DB police raided the house of Abbas at the same time and picked him up from his Shahjahanpur home in Dhaka.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Authorities could not be reached immediately for confirmation of their detention or arrest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on Thursday night, a BNP delegation had a six-hour meeting with the DMP commissioner where they talked about holding the rally on Saturday (December 10) either at Kamalapur Stadium or Mirpur Bangla College ground.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, Abbas with some BNP leaders visited the two venues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At that meeting, police authorities assured of reopening BNP office at Nayapaltan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Wednesday, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following the clash, police raided the BNP office and arrested around 300 party leaders and activists from there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While an understanding was reached apparently between the government and the BNP over the rally following the BNP leaders’ meeting with the DMP authorities, taking away of two top leaders of the party has manifested the government’s tough stance against BNP, which is desperate to reinforce its anti-government movement ahead of next general elections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has warned of tough action against any anarchy in the name of anti-government movement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Talking to UNB, some BNP leaders expressed their fear that the government may arrest more senior party leaders to halt the planned rally on Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Thursday, a Dhaka court sent 445 BNP leaders and activists to jail in two cases filed over Wednesday’s violence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Party’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam and Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie were among the top leaders who were sent to jail, pending further legal procedures. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>