Dhaka, Apr 05, 2025, IANS

Dhaka, April 5 (IANS) In yet another incident that highlights continued suppression of political dissent in Bangladesh, a leader of the Awami League party led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was detained in the early hours of Saturday. The police confirmed the arrest of M A Khalek, Awami League's General Secretary for Meherpur district who is also a former chairman of Gangni Upazila Parishad. The police, however, did not disclose the specific reasons for the arrest. Khalek was earlier arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion force in a case related to the July uprising, last year. He was later granted bail and had been staying at home as he was removed from all his official positions after Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh's leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported. Since assuming power in August 2024, the interim government has unleashed a brutal crackdown on Awami League leaders, most of them on frivolous grounds. Last month, three Awami League leaders, including a former lawmaker from the Tangail-5 constituency, was arrested in connection with an alleged attack on the July anti-discrimination student movement in the capital's Bhatara area. Earlier this week, seven people were arrested as police suspected them to be supporters of the Awami League and its associate bodies after they brought out a procession in favour of the party's student wing Chhatra League in Sylhet. In another assault on Awami League members, the residences of former Mayor Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury and former Member of Parliament Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel were attacked and vandalised by a mob under the banner of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)'s Chhatra Dal. Many Awami League leaders have been brutally attacked and killed after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. Several reports revealed that the bodies of over two dozen Awami League leaders and their family members were recovered from across the country in August 2024. Many leaders and supporters of the Awami League have faced severe assault and mob violence in recent months even as the interim government and its Chief Advisor have been making promises of maintaining law and order situation in the country.