An Awami League leader died while reportedly trying to evade arrest, one was arrested, and 10 other activists of the party, activities of which are now banned, were detained on Sunday from flash processions staged in several areas across the country.
The police intensified efforts to prevent any public programmes by the AL, while party activists have been taking out a higher number of processions over the past several days ahead of the party’s 77th founding anniversary on June 23.
On one occasion on Sunday, party activists also allegedly issued death threats to the police if they tried to prevent them from bringing out processions.
The AL leader died in Barishal city on Sunday, while one activist was arrested in Tangail and 10 other activists of the party and its affiliated organisations were detained at Mohammadpur in the capital Dhaka for taking out flash processions.
On Sunday, the Rapid Action Battalion said that strict action would be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt law and order ahead of the AL founding anniversary.
A video went viral on social media on Sunday, showing a man from a procession brought out by Juba League, the youth front of the AL, in Gazipur, threatening a policeman: ‘Not a single one of you shall come forward. We will kill you.’
According to the police, a group of AL activists brought out the procession in the College Road area at Mohammadpur in the capital at about 8:00am.
A group of activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, chased them away, caught some of them and handed them over to the police.
Mohammadpur police station officer-in-charge Mejbah Uddin said that the police detained 10 suspected activists of the AL and they were verifying their political identities.
Following the verification of their identities and involvement in bringing out the procession, a case would be filed against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Mejbah said.
The deceased AL leader was Rashed Khan Menon, 48, general secretary of Ward No 1 of AL’s Barishal City unit, New Age’s Barishal correspondent reported.
The AL leader reportedly fell into a drain during a police chase in the afternoon at Kaunia in Barishal city.
The victim’s cousin Julhas said that eight policemen on four motorcycles chased Rashed at about 2:15pm on Sunday during a police raid in the area.
‘Rashed tried to avoid arrest and fell into a drain and was injured,’ he said, adding that local people took Rashed to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, where on-duty doctors declared him dead.
Kaunia police station sub-inspector Al Mamun said, ‘We went to Khan’s house as part of our regular operations and left the house without finding anyone there.’
He said that they did not know what happened afterwards.
New Age’s correspondent in Tangail reported that Sadar police arrested a local leader of the Chhatra League, the banned student front of the AL, as about 10 activists brought out a flash procession in the Victoria Road area in the district town in the morning.
New Age’s correspondent in Gazipur reported that leaders and activists of Juba League brought out a procession in the Columbia area at about 6:00am, marched along the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway, and ended it after reaching the Maleker Bari area in Gazipur city.
Questions have been raised about the role of police personnel present at the scene, as they did not take any visible action following alleged life-threatening slogans during the procession against the police.
Basan police station officer-in-charge Harun-ur-Rashid said that video footage of the incident had come to police attention.
‘We are analysing the footage to identify the persons involved. Necessary legal action is under way,’ he added.
The Police Headquarters on June 18 issued a letter asking police officers to remain alert and take adequate security measures across the country to prevent any untoward situation over the AL’s founding anniversary.
On the morning of June 18, the police arrested four suspected AL activists for their alleged involvement in exploding crude bombs during a flash procession in the capital’s Mohakhali area, demanding withdrawal of the ban on AL activities imposed in May 2025.
On June 16, the Sylhet Metropolitan Police arrested four activists of the party from a flash procession in the city’s Nawab Road area.
The Professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government on May 12, 2025, banned all activities of the Awami League until the party and its leaders are tried by the International Crimes Tribunal for alleged crimes against humanity during the mass uprising that ousted the AL regime on August 5, 2024.
