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The National Citizen Party (NCP) has alleged that the motorcade of its Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary and Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis Alam came under attack after the party’s “July March” programme in Habiganj on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the party, several NCP leaders and activists were injured in the incident. NCP leaders alleged that local activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) carried out the attack.
NCP leaders claimed the assault took place in the presence of police. They said a microbus carrying the party’s media team entered the Habiganj District Circuit House compound for safety, but the alleged attackers entered the government premises, vandalised the vehicle and snatched journalists’ mobile phones and cameras.
In a Facebook post, Nasiruddin Patwary alleged that after concluding the July March and heading towards Moulvibazar for the next programme, a group of local Chhatra Dal activists launched a “planned and sudden attack” using hockey sticks, machetes, chains and other locally made weapons.
He further alleged that police and members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were present at the scene but did not intervene.
Patwary also claimed that Sarjis Alam was attacked and that several local NCP activists sustained serious injuries, including broken arms and legs, while others were left bleeding on the road.
“We strongly condemn this brutal and cowardly attack. Those who resort to violence instead of political competition do not believe in democracy,” he wrote, demanding that those responsible, their alleged backers and officials who failed to perform their duties be brought to justice.
In a separate Facebook post, NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan also alleged that local BNP activists attacked the motorcade, injuring journalists and party activists. He described the vandalism inside the District Circuit House compound as a serious example of political violence and alleged that mobile phones and cameras belonging to journalists were taken.
NCP Joint Member Secretary Saleh Uddin Sifat reiterated the party’s allegation that local BNP activists carried out the attack, leaving several journalists and NCP leaders and activists injured.
No immediate response from the BNP or a formal statement from the police regarding the allegations was available at the time of filing this report.
