Monday, May 14, 2012

Opposition rally kicks off

The rally of the 18-party opposition alliance led by the BNP has begun in front of the party's Naya Paltan headquarters. The rally, being held instead of a procession as police did not allow it, started around 4:15pm on Monday, chaired by city BNP convener Sadeque Hossain Khoka. The programme was declared on May 9 to demand details of the whereabouts of missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali, withdrawal of 'false cases' against party leaders and release of the detained activists. The procession was scheduled to start at 4pm from Naya Paltan.

However, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police refused the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance permission to take it out. Masudur Rahman, Additional Deputy Commissioner who heads the Media and Community Service wing of the DMP, said the opposition will only be able to hold a rally in front of the BNP's Naya Paltan headquarters. He added that the decision was taken considering safety and security of the public and their property.

A large number of law enforcers have been deployed in front of the BNP office. Opposition activists started crowding the venue from noon. BNP's Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told bdnews24.com before the rally, "We are not holding the mass procession as police did not permit. Instead, we will stage a peaceful rally." Speakers at the rally are addressing the crowd from a makeshift stage built on top of a truck. Police have barred traffic on both sides of the stretch of the street between Fakirapool to Kakrail intersection

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