20160208 Bangladesh RNP office falls prey to Chhatra Dal rivalries
Bangladesh Feb 08 2016 “Office bldg.”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
BNP office falls prey to Chhatra Dal rivalries
Updated: 2016-02-08-23:34
The central office of the BNP has once again fallen prey to rivalries among its student leaders over issues related to their committee.
The offices were set on fire after Chhatra Dal activists left out of the new committee began agitating around 4pm on Monday.
The statue of party founder Ziaur Rahman on the ground floor and portraits of chairperson Khaleda Zia were vandalised.
Two motorcycles parked outside were torched before a group of men went up and set fire to the Chhatra Dal office on the third floor. Those left out of the Chhatra Dal’s committee were behind the arson, according to police.
But the party’s joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has blamed government agents for the fire and vandalism. He also said police played the role of mere spectators when the offices came under attack.
The BNP chairperson endorsed the student organisation’s full committee, comprising 736 members, on Saturday.
Earlier, in 2013, the BNP central office was vandalised by Chhatra Dal activists after its committee was announced with Rajib Ahsan as president and Akramul Hasan as general secretary.
As a result of the latest incident, the Chhatra Dal’s newly refurbished office on the third floor was completely gutted.
Fire Service official Md Ibrahim said the fire destroyed the office before it could be brought under control. “The Juba Dal’s office, which was on the same floor, was also damaged.”
Portraits of Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia and senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman were burnt in the fire.
The attack took place in three stages, several office staff told bdnews24.com. “One group of men was already on the third floor. The second was positioned at the main gate. The third group was made up of men who came to the front of the office in a procession”
A tea-seller outside the offices said the angry protesters left in a hurry soon after the attack.
“We heard a loud bang and saw fire on the third floor … some men came down the stairs shouting, ‘Fire, fire.’ A procession soon arrived in front of the office from Fakirapool intersection. Everything was over before we knew anything,” he said.
Abdul Matin, a passerby, said he saw 30 to 40 youths shouting slogans like – “We don’t accept pocket committee”, “We want new committee” – when the fire broke out.
He said he saw some others get out of the BNP offices and joined those raising slogans.
Abu Yusuf, a student from a northern district, said the attackers vandalised the mural of Zia with hockey sticks.
“They were shouting and swearing,” he said.
Chhatra Dal Office Secretary Abdus Sattar Patwary said ‘the miscreants’ set the fire to the office when he was out to get food.
The members of the new committee alleged the attackers do not belong to the organisation, though the attack took place during the demonstration of the leaders who have been left out.
According to Patwary, photos of Zia, Khaleda, Tarique Rahman, all the chiefs and general secretaries were torched.
The fire also gutted the air-conditioner, furniture, computer, laptop, printer, television, ceiling fan and all the documents, he said.
The glass box covering Zia’s statue in front of the offices was seen broken. The statue was also damaged.
The glasses of the conference room where the BNP leaders brief the media were shattered.
There has been no electricity in the BNP offices since the attack.
BNP leader Rizvi briefed the media at the office in the evening.
“The Paltan Model Police Station is not far from here. They were throwing stones at the BNP headquarters … setting fire to the office. But the police did nothing,” he said.
“This shows who is behind this … who prompted these criminals to set our office on fire,” he added.
Police said they were looking for the perpetrators of the attack.
Paltan Police Station OC Morshed Alam said additional forces were deployed in front of the BNP headquarters.
Web Source: bdnews24.com
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/02/08/fire-at-rmg-factory-at-mirpur-in-dhaka