Khaleda’s confinement continues
The police laid siege to Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office for the third day on Monday, locking up the office, where she was confined by the law enforcers since Saturday night. As soon as the police heard the news that Khaleda would leave the office to join the rally the party planned for Monday, they locked the main gate from outside at around noon. Khaleda rode in her car at about 3:45pm in a bid to come out of the office only to be barred by the police. The police splashed pepper spray injuring ten journalists and three BNP leaders and office staff when Khaleda’s car reached the main gate. Later, Khaleda announced a non-stop blockade while talking to reporters getting down from the car in the office premises. Khaleda Zia’s press wing official, Shamsuddin Didar, said at about 8:30pm that the BNP chief felt sick due to the pepper spray. She was undergoing treatment under private physician.
The government action came apparently to foil the rally the BNP had planned for Monday marking the anniversary of the January 5, 2014 elections, boycotted by all opposition parties. The police were, however, yet to lift the siege. The trucks laden with sand and bricks, placed near Khaleda’s office, were removed on Monday evening, said Gulshan police deputy commissioner Khandker Lutful Kabir. Asked when the police would lift the siege, Khandker Lutful said that he did not know. BNP office staff said the police remained at the office gate and they were not allowing anyone to enter or go out of the office. The gate also remained locked from outside by the police. Earlier on December 28, 2013, Khaleda Zia was confined to her Gulshan house ahead of ‘March for Democracy’ programme for December 29, 2013. She had been confined to the house for 11 days. Huge contingents of police and members of other law enforcing agencies laid siege to Khaleda’s Gulshan office on Saturday night. At least 24 trucks laden with sand and bricks, water cannon, armoured personnel carriers, prison vans and police pickups were posted in front the office and its adjacent roads on Monday. The deployment of police, including its female members, increased gradually.
The police and other law enforcing agencies formed an 8-tier barricade in front of the office and adjacent area. The police allowed none to enter or come out of the office. A group of lawyers and a team of journalist leaders were, however, allowed to meet Khaleda on Sunday. Some newsmen were allowed to enter the office on Sunday afternoon and many of them stayed overnight there. The police also locked the BNP central office at Nayapaltan on Saturday night removing all office staff after taking BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi to a city hospital under police custody from the office, party leaders said. Khaleda on Sunday told BBC that the government had besieged her as well as the entire country. The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, however, ruled out the allegation and termed it a drama. ‘Khaleda Zia is not confined to her Gulshan office…Who has confined her? She can move to her house any time,’ Hasina said while exchanging views with Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders at her official residence Ganabhaban on Sunday evening. The state minister for home, Asaduzzaman Khan, said on Monday that enhanced security would remain in force for BNP chairperson Khaleda as long as there was a security threat on her life. ‘We have intelligence reports that they [BNP] might create situations on their own and so the police have enhanced her security,’ he added. On Saturday midnight, BNP chairperson’s special assistant Shimul Biswas told reporters that Khaleda as usual came to her office on Sunday night for her routine organisational jobs.
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