The police on Friday obstructed the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party to hold a rally in front of its office even after giving it permission.
The party on Thursday night announced that it would hold a rally in front of the National Press Club at 3:00pm on Friday protesting at police and ruling Awami League attack on protesting students agitating demanding the reform of the quota system in government jobs.
Later, the Awami League also announced a rally in front of the south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at the same time.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police, however, banned rallies in the DMP area on the day.
Defying the DMP instruction, several hundreds of BNP leaders and activists gathered in front of the National Press Club and adjacent areas including Kakrail,聽 Purana Paltan and High Court area.
Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh and police evacuated the demonstrators through tear gas shells, rubber bullets and sound grenades.
At that time, it was also seen that helicopters were being used to fire tear shells and sound grenades at agitators in different parts of the capital.
The police, meanwhile, picked up BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi from the Press Club.
Several hundred of BNP protesters led by its standing committee member Mirza Abbas locked in a clash with the police in the Shantinagar area.
Later, Abbas said that the police announced that they permitted both the AL and the BNP to hold rallies in front of their party offices, but they did not allow the BNP to hold the rally.
He said that the announcement came to just give the scope to Awami League to hold the rally.
Later, at a press conference at BNP chairperson鈥檚 Gulshan office, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the BNP extended its full support to the ongoing student movement.
He also demanded immediate resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina for her failure to tackle the student movement.聽
