BNP supporters on Wednesday set two police vehicles and one armoured vehicle on fire in Naya Paltan area of Dhaka after violence erupted during the issuance of nomination forms in the BNP central party office.
Police used teargas shells to control violence.
Paltan Police Station chief Mahmud Hossain said, “The BNP leaders and activists were haphazardly spread out in front of the party office. The police requested them to maintain law and order. But they clashed with the police without any provocation.”
Police later moved back to the Nightingale bend of Kakrail as traffic came to a halt on the roads leading to the BNP headquarters. Clashes triggered panic in the area and people started running helter-skelter.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the government is out to spoil the election atmosphere.
But Awami League leaders said the BNP factions fighting each other turned on the police when the cops tried to control the situation.
Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal alleged that the violence was an effort by BNP to disrupt the Parliamentary elections in the country.