The BNP has moved a court to start a case against 20 people, including Jubo League General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil and State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder, over an attack on a rally in Dhaka's Mirpur.
Advocate Md Omar Faruque Faruqi, general secretary of the BNP-aligned lawyers’ body Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, lodged the complaint with Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The petition also seeks to bring charges against almost 500 unidentified suspects over the incident.
Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Md Tofazzal Hossain heard the plaintiff's statement, but did not issue any order related to the filing of a case, Faruqi’s lawyer Kalam Khan said.
A number of Awami League leaders, including Dhaka-16 MP Ellias Uddin Mollah, have also been named in the complaint.
Separate rallies held by the Awami League and BNP in close proximity escalated into skirmishes in Pallabi on Sept 15. The BNP and its supporters gathered to protest against the rising prices of daily commodities and fuel.
According to the complaint, nearly 500 Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League leaders and activists, including Nikhil, Kamal and Ellias, carried out an attack on a BNP rally at Mirpur’s Pallabi on Sept 15, leaving several party leaders and activists injured.
“The ruling party activists used various weapons and conducted a murder attempt,” Faruqi said in the statement.
The plaintiff named eight witnesses in the plea. The court will hear their testimonies later, if necessary.
Reacting to the complaint, Jubo League leader Nikhil said, “The BNP has been practising politics of violence since its inception. They deal in falsehoods. The people of Bangladesh have seen their involvement with militant organisations in 2014 and 2015.”
Nikhil refuted the allegations brought by the BNP lawyer, claiming that no Awami League leaders and activists were present at Mirpur when the clashes took place on Sept 15.
“We respect the law and will fight the allegations legally,” he added.