Bangladeshi court sends BNP leader to prison as Oppn calls for blockade

DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh on Sunday ordered the imprisonment of opposition BNP leader and former home minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury in a case filed over vandalism of the chief justice’s residence during a clash between his party supporters and police that left two people dead.

The direction of the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court came as clashes and clandestine arson attacks left dozens, including policemen, wounded and vehicles burnt amid a new 48-hour nationwide transport blockade called by the opposition.

Chowdhury, a former Air Force chief, was arrested by the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from the suburban Tongi area.

Besides Chowdhury, several other leaders of ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP were arrested in connection with the deadly violence in Dhaka on October 28 in which two people, including a policeman, were killed and the city saw widespread clashes, including an attack on the chief justice’s residence.

Police said they arrested 2,172 opposition leaders last week under 89 cases of violence and sabotage in the capital alone, while media reports suggested that nearly 8,000 opposition figures were detained in a nationwide crackdown during the period.