At least 240 leaders and activists of BNP-Jamaat were detained in special drives in 15 districts across the country from Monday night to Tuesday morning, reports UNB.
Police held them from Satkhira, Comilla, Lakshmipur, Chittagong, Comilla, Dinajpur, Bagerhat, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Pabna, Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Panchagarh, Netrakona, Bogra, and Sherpur districts.
In Satkhira, police in special drives arrested 71 people including 44 leaders and activists of BNP-Jamaat from different areas of the district from Monday evening to Tuesday noon including Ahaduzzaman, general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal district unit and Nasir Uddin general secretary Tanti Dal accusing them in sabotage and drug cases.
Police launched the special drives in different areas of eight-thanas of the district and arrested them said Maruf Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station.
Of them, 23 were arrested from Sadar thana, six from Kalaroa, four from Tala, eight from Kaliganj, three from Shyamnagar, five from Ashashuni, seven from Debhata and four from Patkelghata upazila.
In Lakshmipur, police in a drive arrested least 20 BNP-Jamaat men from Sadar, Ramgati, Kamalnagar and Raipura upazilas on Monday night and Tuesday morning and Fakhrul Islam Swapan, the general secretary of Chorruhita area of Sadar upazila, Razu Hossain, the general secretary of Bhabaniganj upazila Jubo Dal, secretary for publicity Shipon are among the arrested persons, said Anirban Chakma, additional police super of the district.
He said they were arrested on charges of sabotage.
In Comilla, police in special drives arrested at least 48 leaders and activists of BNP and 15 others of Jamaat from Sadar, South Sadar, Chaddagram, Chandina, Burichang, Homna, Titas, Meghna, Borura, Laksam, Daudkandi and Monohorganj upazilas of the district on Monday night to Tuesday morning.
In Chittagong, 22 Jamaat activists and leaders were arrested on Tuesday morning from Alkoron area of Kotwali police station from a secret meeting of them said Kotwali police station officer-in-charge Jasim Uddin.
He said the arrested persons are the leaders and activists of Jamaat and were planning subversive activities.
On the other hand in Nawabganj, at least 59 leaders and activists of BNP were sued on Monday and four were arrested on charge of violence in Nawabganj.
Sub-inspector Md Shafiqul Islam said they arrested three BNP members and one Jamaat activist from different places in the upazila.
In Dinajpur, police in drives on Monday night arrested at least 15 leaders and activists of BNP-Jamaat from different places of the district, said district police control room sources.
Among the arrested persons, nine are BNP-men including Akhtaruzzaman Jewel, joint convener of district unit BNP and six are Jamaat men. They were sent to jail after producing them before the court.
In Bagerhat, police in 24 hours-long drive from Monday night to Tuesday arrested at least 54 accused of different charges including seven leaders of BNP-Jamaat, said Pankaj Chandra Roy, superintendent of district police.
He said police arrested seven BNP-Jamaat leaders with explosive substances and sabotage charges and 47 others accused in different charges.
The arrested persons were sent to jail after producing them before the court, the SP added.
In Nilphamari, police in special drives from Monday night to Tuesday morning arrested at least 39 accused including seven leaders and activists of BNP-Jamaat from different places in six upazilas of the district, said additional SP Abul Bashar Mohammad Atiqur Rahman.
Mominul Islam, officer-in-charge of district Detective Branch (DB) police said, the arrested persons were absconders and listed accused of different charge-sheets.
In Sylhet, police in drives from Monday night to Tuesday morning arrested six leaders and activists of BNP and its associate body from different places of Fenchuganj and Kanaighat upazilas of the district in sabotage charges, said Md Nazmul Haque, officer-in-charge of Fenchuganj police station.
In Pabna, police arrested at least six leaders and activists of BNP, including engineer Habibur Rahman Tota, general secretary of the district unit BNP from Shibrampur area in the district town, said Abdul Razzak, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station.
They were held for allegedly attacked on police personnel on 1 January last, he OC added.
The arrested persons were sent to jail through court, the OC said.
In Chapainawabganj, police in drives arrested four leaders of Jamaat-Shibir along with one kilogram gunpowder from Sadar and Bholarhat upazilas of the district on Tuesday morning, said Mahbub Alam, officer-in-charge of district DB police.
The arrestees have planned to carry out subversive activities at the area, the OC added.
Two cases were filed with Sadar and Bholarhat police station under the Explosive Substances Act.
In Rajshahi, police arrested a leader of district unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal along with two others from Putia upzila headquarter on Monday evening.
Police also recovered one-liter of petrol from their possession, said Sayedur Rahman Bhuyan, officer-in-charge of Putia police station.
Police also filed a case under special power act against Charghat Upazila Parishad chairman Abu Sayed Chand and nine others with names and 30 unnamed in this connection.
The arrested persons were sent to jail after producing them before the court on Tuesday, the OC added.
In Panchagarh, police in drives from Sunday night to Monday night arrested at least 26 BNP-Jamaat men from different places over the district.
The arrested persons were sent to jail through court in showing them arrested in several cases, said Md Gias Uddin Ahmed, superintendent of district police.
In Netrokona, police in drives from Monday night to Tuesday evening arrested at least 25 accused of several cases including five BNP-Jubo Dal and Jamaat leaders from different places over the district, said district police control room sources.
In Bogra, police in drives from Monday night to Tuesday morning arrested at least nine BNP and its associate bodies-men from different places of the district in charge of planning to carry out subversive activities, said district police control room sources.
In Sherpur, police arrested two Jubo Dal leaders and a JCD leader from Sadar and Sreebardi upazilas of the district in charge of carrying out vandalism activities in the district town on Tuesday, said Md Rezaul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sreebardhi police station.