<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The central office of BNP at Nayapaltan remained locked on Friday morning although police authorities assured of reopening from this morning.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides, police again put up barricades in front of Nightingale restaurant in Kakrail and Fakirapool intersections restricting the traffic movement from 7am after 11 hours of being normal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police earlier lifted the blockades on this road from 4 pm on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A large number of law enforcers remained deployed in the area since this morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police are not allowing anyone to enter this area without the identity card and proper checking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several leaders and workers of BNP gathered at Fakirapul intersection and were chased by the police at 11am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An on-duty police member told UNB the step has been taken to ensure public security.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Motijheel Division Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner Hayatul Islam Khan said the surrounding area including Nayapaltan is under police control. No BNP leaders activists will be allowed to enter this area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said some leaders and activists tried to gather in the surrounding areas in Nayapaltan since morning, but they were dispersed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are dozens of armoured vehicles, prison vans and police cars on the blocked road.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, BNP Organizing Secretary Syed Emran Saleh Prince was supposed to join the Nayapaltan office at 10am, but was barred from entering the area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The gate at the central office of BNP is locked with two security guards inside. They said that no one from the BNP came to the office after the police raid last Wednesday. They have no idea if anyone will come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A tense situation is prevailing in the area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regarding the two top leaders of the party being picked up by detectives, the leaders of the BNP standing committee are supposed to sit in a virtual meeting for the next course of decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</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;">ater, 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 the 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;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to BNP's earlier announcement, Dhaka's divisional rally is scheduled to be held on Nayapaltan tomorrow (Saturday). UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>