BNP leaders and activists are staging demonstrations in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office on Saturday afternoon demanding release of their chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail.
However, they failed to march towards the Jatiya Press Club with their procession amid police obstructions.
“BNP leaders tried to march towards the Jatiya Press Club with a procession but police did not allow us to leave Nayapaltan area,“ said assistant office secretary Saiful Islam Tipu.
Being obstructed by police, BNP leaders and activists started their protest rally in front of its office around 2:30 pm, he added.
Earlier in the morning , police cordoned off the BNP central office ahead of the its protest procession.
Law enforcers did not permit anyone to enter the office in the morning, BNP activists claimed.
On Wednesday, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the programme at a press conference.
He said they will bring out the procession from their Nayapaltan central office at 2pm on Saturday and it will end at the Jatiya Press Club.
Asked whether they got permission from police for their planned procession, Fakhrul said, “No permission is needed for holding such a programme. We’ll only inform them about the programme.”
Khaleda has been in jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was found guilty in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated.
The BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the BSMMU since April 1 last year.
