More than 50 people were detained from the central office of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) in Gulistan on Saturday afternoon, with police saying they were verifying whether the detainees were linked to the Awami League.
JSD leaders, however, said those detained were the party’s leaders and activists who had gathered at the office for a delegates’ conference.
Police said they detained the individuals on suspicion that they were activists of the Awami League, whose political activities are currently banned.
The detainees were being questioned and their identities and affiliations verified, said police, adding that legal action would be taken based on the findings.
Several JSD activists said party leaders and activists had been gathering at the central office since morning for the delegates’ conference.
Around 2pm, activists of the Jubo Dal, led by its central executive committee Joint General Secretary Rabiul Islam Nayan, surrounded the JSD office, they said.
Police arrived at around 4pm and detained more than 50 people from the office, according to the JSD activists.
Police officials, however, said the detainees were not necessarily JSD members.
They said an Awami League flash procession took place in Dhanmondi around noon, during which several crude bombs were allegedly exploded. Some participants in the procession later went to the JSD office in Gulistan and took shelter there, according to the officials.
Mohammad Akhtar Hossain, deputy commissioner of the DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division, said a number of outsiders were staying at the JSD office and holding a meeting while chanting “Joy Bangla” slogans.
“Police conducted the operation there on suspicion that they were Awami League activists,” he said.
The DMP said the detainees were being screened to establish their identities and affiliations. Legal action would be taken after the verification process, police said.
JSD is a partner of the 14-party alliance that was led by the Awami League when it was in power. JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu, a former minister, was arrested after the fall of the Awami League government and is currently in jail.
He has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a separate case.
