DHAKA: At least 244 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations were arrested by Bangladesh police after staging a flash procession in Dhaka, local media reported.
Addressing a press conference, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SM Nazrul Islam said that 244 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its front organisations were taken into custody during flash processions.
He stated that the arrest took place in Uttara, Farmgate, and Tejgaon areas of Dhaka, adding that they had arrived from several districts, including Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Gazipur, and Gopalganj.
Nazrul Islam further stated that earlier, in a series of operations, the DMP had arrested over 500 Awami League leaders and activists from various parts of the Capital.
According to the senior police official, these party leaders and activists were allegedly mobilising themselves to disrupt the law-and-order situation ahead of next year's elections, Bangladesh's leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported.
These latest developments come amid the ongoing crackdown on Awami League leaders, along with the party's supporters, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Last week, several members of Awami League from Dhaka Metropolitan South staged a flash procession in the Beribadh area under Hazaribagh police station in the capital, in support of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.