Police foil AL supporters’ flash procession at Dhaka’s Gulistan

Police on Saturday foiled a flash procession brought out by activists of the Awami League, now facing a ban on their political activities, in the capital’s Gulistan area.

Their march started from front of Gate No. 1 of the Stadium at around 7:45am, said Rezwanul Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner of DMP’s Motijheel division.

“They marched for only 10 to 15 seconds before fleeing. So, it was not possible to arrest them,” he said.

At least seven locations including Mohakhali, Jatrabari and Malibagh witnessed crude bomb explosions from Friday afternoon to midnight.

A passenger bus was also set on fire in the Kafrul area of Mirpur on Friday night.

The latest incidents followed the International Crime Tribunal’s recent death sentences against six people including Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader over allegations of involvement in the 2024 July Uprising.

Earlier in the month, police arrested at least 74 people in connection with flash processions brought out by leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations in Dhaka’s Gulshan.

The procession was brought out under the banner of the Awami League in Gulshan-1 around noon on Friday.

According to police, activists attempted to bring out the procession from in front of Bhola Mosque in Gulshan-1. When police approached, the participants allegedly threw cocktails and fled the scene.

Police fired two rounds of rubber bullets to disperse the procession, officials said.

A video circulated on social media shows several hundred people taking part in the procession and chanting “Joy Bangla.”

Responding to these incidents, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi had questioned how the banned Awami League managed to organise a procession in Dhaka’s Gulshan, asking what the intelligence agencies and police were doing.

“You can see that a banned political party is suddenly trying to make a comeback. But how are they doing it? What are the intelligence agencies doing? They gathered a number of people. Did the intelligence agencies not know about it? What is the police administration doing?” he said at a recent discussion.