1,223 BNP men arrested in nine days

Police arrested a total of 1,223 BNP leaders and activists from different parts of the capital and produced them before the court in nine days just before the party's December 10 rally.

The BNP men were arrested in connection with 95 cases -- well known as political cases -- filed with 46 police stations under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka between December 1 and 9, according to the court's register books.

However, no BNP men arrested in any cases filed with four other police stations of DMP -- Rupnagar Police Station, Tejgaon Industrial Police Station, Hatirjheel Police Station and Dakshin Khan Police Station -- were produced before the court during this time.

The charges of most of the 95 cases include blocking the road through unlawful assembly, deterring police from carrying out their duties, damage to properties, creating panic among the public and blasting explosives.

Almost all the accused arrested in the cases were sent to jail after being produced before the court between December 1 and 9, said the general registering officers of the court.

Among the 95 cases, 67 were filed with 39 police stations of DMP, including Paltan, Motijheel, Shahjahanpur, Ramna, Jatrabari, Demra, Kamrangirchar, Mirpur, Chawkbazar, Hazaribagh, Khilgaon, Kadamtali, Shyampur and Sutrapur between last November and December 8.

Some 1,052 BNP men were arrested in connection with these 67 cases between December 1 and 9, said the case documents.

Of the remaining 28 cases, 19 cases were filed between February and October this year, while two were filed in 2018, five in 2020 and another two in 2021. A total of 171 BNP men were arrested in these 28 cases between December 1 and 9 before the party's rally in the capital.