Police stopped leaders and activists of the National Citizen Party (NCP) again in Bahubal upazila this evening when they were heading to attend their scheduled rally in Habiganj town protesting Tuesday’s attack on party leaders.
Zakaria Emon, central co-organising secretary of NCP, confirmed the development to The Daily Star around 7:00pm.
“The convoy faced obstacles again at Rashidpur in Bahubal on its way from Sreemangal to Habiganj town. We started a sit-in protest on the road. It was raining at the time. We are still there,” he said.
NCP Convener and Opposition Chief Whip in parliament Nahid Islam said, “We were stopped several times with sand trucks, tractors and other vehicles. Section 144 was imposed in Habiganj after one of our activists lost an eye in Tuesday’s attack. Instead of arresting the attackers, the administration chose to restrict our programme.”
“We said, since Section 144 has been issued, we will not hold a programme. We will go, meet the injured families, file a case and come back," he said.
However, police stopped them at places where Section 144 was not even in force, he alleged.
Earlier, NCP leaders crossed several police barricades in Moulvibazar’s Sreemangal this afternoon and resumed their journey to Habiganj after being stopped for nearly two hours, party leaders said.
Party leaders said that amid heightened political tensions, NCP leaders and activists left the Moulvibazar Circuit House around 4:00pm for Habiganj, where they were scheduled to hold a rally.
When they reached Cha-Kanya, police stopped them till 4:30pm.
"We have been stopped four times in various places. After crossing the last barricade in Kamaichhara around 5:42pm, we resumed our journey to Habiganj," Emon told The Daily Star at the time.
Eyewitnesses said around 10 vehicles, including microbuses, were part of the NCP leaders' convoy. Meanwhile, more than 100 police personnel took position on the main road in the Cha-Kanya area and blocked the road. The NCP leaders got out of their vehicles and held talks with senior police officials. However, police barred them from proceeding to Habiganj, citing the Section 144 imposed there.
Abdur Razzak, inspector (investigation) of Sreemangal Police Station, said the convoy was stopped considering the security of the NCP leaders.
"But they are not listening to what we are saying. The convoy has crossed Sreemangal," he told The Daily Star.
Habiganj Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Zahidul Haque said Section 144 has been in force in Habiganj municipality since this morning.
"We are keeping a close watch to prevent any untoward incident. Police and BGB personnel have been deployed on the ground," he added.
The Habiganj district administration imposed Section 144 today across Habiganj municipality, banning gatherings of five or more people amid fears of clashes between rival political groups.
According to the order, the NCP announced a protest rally and roadside meeting in the municipality, while Habiganj Sadar upazila BNP, Habiganj municipality BNP and Habiganj district Chhatra Dal also called counter-protests and sit-in programmes at the same place and time. As a precautionary measure, the district administration imposed Section 144 to prevent any untoward incidents.
The NCP has already suspended the next legs of its "July March" campaign scheduled for today in Moulvibazar's Rajnagar and Kulaura following an alleged attack on a convoy carrying its senior leaders in Habiganj.
