Sylhet Metropolitan Police detained 22 leaders and activists of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh conducting a raid at the party鈥檚 office in Sylhet city Saturday noon centring on a movement of the battery-run rickshaw workers.
The party leaders alleged that a huge contingent of police suddenly surrounded the SPB office in the city鈥檚 Amberkhana area at noon while a regular 鈥榩atchakra鈥� (study session) was under way and detained 22 leaders and activists. The detainees were later taken to the Kotwali police station, they said.
SPB Sylhet district president Abu Zafar told 抖阴精品 that a team of the Kotwali police station also arrested the party鈥檚 district general secretary Anwar Hossain Suman from his residence of Akhalia Kalibari area in the city in the midnight past Friday without any specific allegation against him.聽
SMP additional deputy commissioner (media) Mohammad Saiful Islam confirmed the detentions of the BSD activists to 抖阴精品. He said that despite a ban, some battery-run rickshaw workers attempted to hold a programme in the city Saturday.
鈥楽everal individuals have been detained on suspicion of their involvement in organizing a gathering. They would be formally arrested if the allegations are found true during verification,鈥� he added.
Responding to another query, the SMP officer said that the SPB district GS Anwar was arrested in a case filed under the Speedy Trial Tribunal Act on charges of vandalising the main entrance of Sylhet City Corporation and CNG-run auto-rickshaws during a protest programme of the battery-run rickshaw drivers on Tuesday.
鈥楬e was produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate court in the afternoon when the court ordered to send him to jail,鈥� he said.
SPB leader Abu Zafar, however, alleged that the police action was unwarranted. He said that they had earlier announced to bring out a 鈥榟unger procession鈥� from Chowhatta intersection on Sunday to demand withdrawal of the ban on battery-run rickshaws.
鈥楤ut we suspended the program after the SMP imposed a restriction on Friday night on our programme,鈥� he said.
鈥楽o, there was no protest programme in our office today except a study session. Even then, police raided the office and detained 22 of our leaders and activists,鈥� he claimed.
Earlier on Tuesday, battery-run rickshaw workers staged a demonstration by blocking the Chowhatta鈥揨indabazar road in the city for several hours to press for an 11-point charter of demands including withdrawal of the ban on battery-run rickshaws.
A number of left-leaning political party leaders, including Anwar, participated in that protest from which the demonstrators had given the authorities an ultimatum until Sunday to meet their demands.
In a press briefing on Friday evening, the SMP commissioner Abdul Quddus Chowdhury said that a third party was instigating the battery-run rickshaw workers鈥� movement.
鈥楧ue to fears of possible clashes following back-to-back programmes, permission for Sunday鈥檚 programme has been denied,鈥� he added.
Terming the police action as an attempt to choke democratic rights, the BSD leader Zafar said that series of arrests was made just a day before the workers鈥� deadline expired.
The SPB on Saturday in a statement condemned the police raid on its Sylhet district office and the arrest of 22 activists from the SPB office and demanded their release. In the statement, SPB central committee general secretary Bazlur Rashid Firoz said that police conducted a block raid last night, and arrested 15 people from their homes and later detained 22 others in a raid at the Sylhet district SPB office.
