Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia, on a four-day tour to visit the persecuted Rohingya people in Cox's Bazar, has reached Chittagong after facing attack near Feni town.
The BNP leaders said their party chief's convoy reached the port city around 8:45pm on Saturday.
Khaleda’s convoy came under attack by a group of unruly youths, equipped with rods and sticks, as it passed by Mohammad Ali Bazar area near Feni district town around 4:45pm.
A UNB correspondent said they damaged nearly 30 vehicles, including microbuses of Channel I, DBC, Ekattor, Baishakhi, Ekushey televisions, Daily Star and Prothom Alo, and beat several journalists and leaders and activists of BNP who were going with Zia.
The attackers assaulted journalists even after they disclosed their professional identity.
As some journalists went to a hotel at Lalpur in the district town to take lunch, a group of rowdy youths also attacked the hotel and asked the journalists to leave the place immediately.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi blamed the ruling party cadres for the attack and alleged that they did it at the behest of the government.
"We've sought their cooperation and necessary security measures to make our chairperson journey peaceful but they let loose their activists to attack journalists and our leaders and activists," he said.
The BNP leader also alleged that the ruling party men had swooped on their party activists at different points in Comilla earlier.
Dhaka South City BNP General Secretary Kazi Abul Bashar in his instant reaction said the 'ruling party cadres' damaged their nearly 15 vehicles and beat a number of their leaders and activists.
However, Khaleda Zia reached Feni Circuit House safely around 5pm.
After having lunch and taking rest there, she started her journey for Chittagong around 6:52pm.
Earlier, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia started her journey for Chittagong in the morning as she has embarked on a four-day tour of Cox's Bazar to visit the Rohingyas who have taken shelter there in the face of persecution in their own country, Myanmar.
