Police pick up hartal pickets
Workers sleep on the footpath at Alupatti intersection in Rajshahi city during the daytime yesterday as the ongoing countrywide hartal enforced by BNP made them temporarily jobless.Photo: STAR
At least 80 pickets were arrested in six districts yesterday, the first day of 48-hour countrywide hartal enforced by BNP-led four-party alliance. Of them, 39 were arrested in Kurigram, eight in Gaibandha, seven in Dinajpur, eight in Rajshahi, 12 in Chapainawabganj and six in Patuakhali districts, according to our correspondents. In Kurigram, police arrested 39 leader and activists of BNP and Jamaat-e Islami in Rajarhat, Bhurungamari, Ulipur and Sadar upazilas of the district. Rajarhat upazila Jamaat chief Md Khalilur Rahman along with 25 party men was arrested at Rajhat Bazar in the morning. Police produced them in a magistrate court that sent them to jail. The rest of the arrestees are BNP men. In Gaibandha, eight pickets were arrested at different points of the district town. Mobile court sentenced a BNP activist named Alamgir Hossain to one month's imprisonment and three others to 10 days imprisonment each for violating law and order. In Dinajpur, police arrested seven pro-hartal activists while they were picketing in the town. Activities at Hili land port remained suspended during yesterday's hartal. In Rajshahi, seven Jamaat and BNP men, including Rajpara upazila Jamaat Amir Abdul Malek, were arrested. Witnesses said police charged batons on Jamaat activists as they took out a procession in support of hartal at Laxmipur in the city. In Chapainawabganj, police picked up 12 BNP activists from different areas of the town on charge of violating law and order. They were later produced in the judicial magistrate's court that sent them to jail. In Patuakhali, six people, including a member of Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum of Patuakhali unit, were arrested while they were picketing in the town. Our staff correspondent from Khulna reported that at least 21 lawyers of Khulna District Bar were injured in police action during yesterday's hartal. Witnesses said police charged batons on the lawyers as they were trying to bring out a pro-hartal procession from association's office at around 10:00am.
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