Police detained more than 200 people from the head office of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad) in Gulistan during a raid on Saturday, suspecting them of being leaders and activists of Awami League, whose political activities are currently banned.
The detentions took place from Saturday afternoon until evening.
Police said legal action would be taken after verifying the identities and involvement of those detained.
Jasad leaders, however, claimed that those detained were the party’s leaders and activists who had gathered for its representative conference.
Jasad Office Secretary Sazzad Hossain told journalists that the party’s central representative meeting was underway at the office. Around 400 leaders and activists from across the country joined the representative meeting. The conference started at 10:30am.
“Initially, BNP leaders and activists came and assaulted our leaders and activists. Police personnel were present there. Later, in the afternoon, senior officials also arrived and started detaining the leaders and activists. Police had been informed in writing about Saturday’s conference beforehand,” he said.
Witnesses said a meeting had been taking place at the Jasad office since morning. Around 2pm, Jubo Dal leaders and activists led by its central executive committee Joint General Secretary Rabiul Islam Nayan surrounded the office.
Around 4pm, in the presence of senior police officials, participants of the meeting were detained and initially taken to Paltan Police Station. As the number of detainees increased, they were later shifted to nearby police stations, including Motijheel and Shahjahanpur.
Rabiul Islam Nayan told TIMES that the gathering was a secret meeting aimed at creating instability.
“People from different parts of the country were brought here for a secret meeting at the Jasad office. The meeting was being held as part of a plan to destabilise the country and carry out arson and bomb attacks. That is why we protested,” he said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media and Public Relations Division Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Akhtar Hossain said many outsiders were present at the Jasad office, holding a meeting and chanting “Joy Bangla”.
“Many outsiders were staying at Jasad’s central office, holding a meeting and chanting ‘Joy Bangla’. Police conducted an operation and detained them on suspicion of being Awami League leaders and activists,” he said.
Paltan Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ariful Islam told TIMES at 9pm that around 200 people had been brought to the police station based on specific intelligence information.
“Based on specific intelligence information, around 200 people have been brought to the police station from the Jasad office,” he said.
The OC said they would be questioned and their information would be verified before any case was filed.
Meanwhile, Abu Jafar Surjo, former president of a faction of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), was among those detained.
Before his detention, Surjo posted a statement on his Facebook page saying that he was at the Jasad office for professional work and was detained from there.
Regarding Surjo’s detention, Jasad leader Sazzad Hossain said, “Surjo is involved with the party. That is why he came to the party office.”
The detention and Surjo’s statement triggered discussions on social media.
Some users questioned why Surjo was invited to the programme while other journalists were not. Others questioned whether a person known as a newspaper editor could attend such an event for professional purposes and raised questions over which newspaper he represented.
Following his detention, reports were published in the media making allegations against Surjo.
Those reports alleged that “Surjo accumulated significant wealth while presenting himself as a journalist leader during the Awami League period. He traded in Secretariat press cards and ran newspapers under various names, obtaining government registrations and selling them at high prices.”
The reports also alleged that he used various means to pressure people and extract additional money by selling newspaper registrations.
They further alleged that during deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, he went to different newspapers as a journalist union leader whenever salary disputes arose and pressured owners to reach settlements, allegedly obtaining additional benefits in the process.
Jasad was a partner of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance.
The party’s president and former minister Hasanul Haq Inu is currently in jail. He served as information minister during the Awami League government.
He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case related to crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising which ousted the AL government.
