Later, a case was filed against Proshika President Qazi Faruque Ahmed and 11 others including a Dhaka University teacher for financial irregularities, court sources said.

The official in charge of NGO affairs at Prime Minister's Office lodged the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court of Dhaka. The court summoned the defendants to appear before it on May 17.

Police, in their raid on the Mirpur headquarters of Proshika, this time did not arrest any one. This latest police action came after law enforcers picked up 39 Proshika staffers in an eight-day dragnet, linking them to the much-hyped April-30 deadline of the main opposition Awami League for unseating the government.

Details of the document seizure are conflicting.

A senior police officer, declining to be identified, confirmed the seizure without providing any details, but other officials said they seized "nothing" from the office in the three-hour raid.

"We had information that there were some documents on the organisation's antigovernment activities and we raided the building to seize them," the senior police officer said.

Proshika Director (Administration) Syed Giasuddin Ahmed said: "Police have written in their report that they did not find what they were looking for."

But the deputy director (General Administration) of the NGO, Parveen Mushtari, said: "Police seized some documents, but I don't know what they are about."

About 30 law enforcers from Pallabi Police Station and traffic department mounted guard at the entry to the 14-storey Proshika Bhaban since 2:15pm.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Mirpur Zone) Kamrul Ahsan, the officers-in-charge of Pallabi and Mirpur police stations, detectives and members of the Special Branch (SB), Rapid Action Team and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence entered the office. A SB superintendent of police led the raid.

The police team scoured different floors of the building and checked some files on computers on the second floor where the deputy directors of the NGO work and on the seventh floor where its president and vice-president work. Giasuddin said: "Police said they had a search warrant. But, they did not ask us anything."

Police scanned files and audio- and video-tapes in the reporting section on the ninth floor and quizzed some officials on their work.

Police did not let journalists enter the office until the raid ended at 5:15pm. Many Proshika officials who went out for lunch had to wait outside. Police however let some employees leave the office during the sweep.

The law enforcers refused to talk to the waiting journalists and left in a hurry. "Don't ask me anything. I cannot talk about it," said AC Kamrul Ahsan, who was in a rush to board his jeep.

DENIAL OF LINKS

Proshika fell foul of the government as it allegedly threw its weight behind the Awami League (AL) for a campaign during the last general elections and the recent antigovernment agitation ahead of April 30.

Faruque Ahmed said: "The government's allegation against Proshika is not true."

"The government earlier failed to prove the allegation (of assisting the AL) it brought against me after it came to power. The government repeats that it has proof."

"It's a conspiracy against us. Raising the allegations, the government is trying to justify its mass arrests and intimidating our officials into giving false statements," he said.