Bangladesh Administrative Service Association demanded arrest of Barishal city mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah for attack on upazila nirbahi officer’s residence while ruling Awami League on Friday demanded removal of the UNO, withdrawal of cases filed against the mayor and others and release of the arrested party activists.

 
The Barishal divisional commissioner Saiful Hasan Badal told reporters in the afternoon that the situation in Barishal was calm and there was no need of the deployment of Border Guard Bangladesh members in the city.

He, however, said that border guards were ready to work in the city, if needed.

Bangladesh Administrative Service Association executive committee at a meeting on Thursday evening elaborately discussed Wednesday night’s attack on the residence of UNO Munibur Rahman and said that the mayor was responsible for the attack, said a release.

The meeting, chaired by association president and water resources senior secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, decided to face the ‘political miscreants’ as per the law. The law will take its own course, the release said.

At the night on August 18, 2021, hundreds of activists of the ruling Awami League and its student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League allegedly attacked the official residence of UNO Munibur twice while Ansar members who tried to resist them were also allegedly attacked, prompting them to open fire.

Both Ansar members and AL activists were injured during the clash.

Munibur had earlier told New Age that posters of state minister for water resources Zaheed Farooque were put up to commemorate the National Mourning Day at places on Upazila Parishad premises.

Chhatra League activists went there to tear down those at night, he said, adding that he asked them to tear the poster on Thursday morning as people were in sleep.

‘But the Chhatra League activists abused me verbally and started picketing around the residence,’ he added.

Two cases were filed — one by the police and another by the UNO — over the incident of the overnight attack.

Barishal city mayor was made a prime accused in both the cases.

Following the unrest, the district administration deployed additional forces and started drives to keep the law and order situation normal.

Talking to reporters at mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah’s house in the city, district and city AL leaders demanded immediate withdrawal of the cases, release of arrested party activists and removal of Munibur Rahman.

They claimed that there was no attack on the official residence of the UNO and posters and banners were being removed as part of routine activity of the city corporation.

They claimed that over 60 AL leaders and activists and city corporation staff were shot as the law enforcers opened fire under the direction of the UNO.

Barishal district AL general secretary Talukdar Md Younus said that legal actions would be taken over the incident on behalf of the party.

AL also held protests in Gournadi, Babuganj and Banaripara upazila towns and Mahila Awami League staged a demonstration in the afternoon in its Barishal city office to press home the same demands.

‘As many as 94 activists of the ruling party and its affiliate organisations were accused in the cases,’ Kotwali police station officer-in-charge Nurul Islam said.

He said that they had so far arrested 13 accused in the cases.

Though the Barisal deputy commissioner Jasim Uddin Haider on Thursday said that they had decided to deploy 10 platoons of border guards led by 10 executive magistrates to keep the law and order, the Barishal divisional commissioner on Friday afternoon said that the situation was now calm and there was no need of border guard deployment right now.

Additional police and members of Rapid Action Battalion were deployed to keep the situation under control, said officials.