Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
The Bangladesh Jatiya Party or JaPa’s central office in Kakrail, Dhaka, was vandalised and set on fire on Saturday evening, a day after violent clashes between police, army personnel and activists of the Gono Odhikar Parishad.
The incident took place around 6:30pm. According to eyewitnesses, a group of agitated people brought out a procession in the area, pelting brick chips at the JP office while marching past it. Police said the mob then staged a demonstration, vandalised the premises, and eventually torched the office.
A police officer on the spot said, “They carried out vandalism at the party office, and at one point, they also set it on fire.” Law enforcers later charged batons to disperse the crowd. The violence followed Friday night’s attack in front of Al Razi Tower at Bijoynagar, where over 50 leaders and activists of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, including its president Nurul Haque Nur, were injured in what the party alleged was a joint assault by army and police personnel. The attack drew condemnation from political parties, social organisations, the police department and even the government.