No fresh application by BNP as yet: DMP
Police lying over rally permission: Rizvi
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Miah yesterday claimed that the DMP had not got any application yet from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) seeking permission to hold a public meeting at Nayapaltan. He was talking to reporters after awarding certificates to the newly-trained Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) members at Mirpur Police Lines in Dhaka. We shall take the necessary security steps after getting a letter from the BNP, he added. However, BNP at a press briefing yesterday termed untrue the DMP Police Commissioners statement that they did not get any application from the party seeking permission for holding a rally on November 8 in front of its Nayapaltan central office, reports UNB. We gave an application to the appropriate DMP authorities seeking permission for holding a rally at Nayapaltan. They also received the application. Despite that what the police are now telling the media is not true. Theyre lying, said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed at a press briefing at
the partys Nayapaltan headquarters in the capital.
The BNP leader also showed journalists the received copy of their application.
Having denied permission to hold its rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, Rizvi on Friday said they sought fresh permission to stage it in front of its Nayapaltan central office on November 8 marking the National
Revolution and Solidarity Day. Earlier, BNP sought permission from DMP to allow it holding a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan either on November 7 or 8.
On Thursday night, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said they would not allow any political party to hold any rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on November 7 or 8 on public security ground as some other parties also sought permission to use the venue at the same time.
Rizvi also alleged that police arrested their four leaders in front of their party office in the afternoon to frighten the party activists ahead of its November 8 rally.
He said police unlawfully arrested their party assistant office secretary Taiful Islam Tipu, JCD vice president Nazmul Hasan, assistant training affairs secretary Shafiqul Islam and Dhaka University JCD president Sarwarul Alam Khan in front of their party office.
He condemned the police move and demanded the release of the leaders.
Speaking at the Mirpur Police Lines, DMP Commissioner Mohammad Asaduzzaman Miah said they did not get fresh application from BNP for giving it permission to hold its rally at Nayapaltan.
The DMP commissioner said that the SWAT unit had got another 20 new members as its importance is huge in the present scenario of the country. We have been feeling its significance since the Gulshan attack. We have given month-long special training to 20 policemen and appointed them in SWAT. Now, the total number of members of this specialised unit is 70, which will soon be increased to 100.
The first batch of 50 SWAT members was trained in the US. The DMP boss said the SWAT is using all modern equipment that came from the US. SWAT is playing a major role against militants as we have zero tolerance against militancy, he added. At the function, the DMP commissioner awarded the SWAT trainees certificates and Tk. 10,000 in cash prizes each. He also handed over the trophy for the best shooter in the pistol category to constable Md Salman Hajari and in the rifle category to constable Abdullah Al Safi. Senior DMP officials, including additional commissioner Md Shahabuddin Qoreshi and additional commissioner Md Monirul Islam, and representatives of the US Embassy in Dhaka, were present on the occasion.
