Online Desk :
The secretary’s office of the Supreme Court Bar Association has been vandalised amid brewing political tensions as pro-Awami League and BNP lawyers announced rallies.
Pro-Awami League lawyers accused their counterparts of vandalising the office on Thursday, but they denied the allegations, reports bdnews24.com.
Earlier, the pro-BNP lawyers’ organisation, the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, held a press briefing to protest a verdict against BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman in a graft case.
Tarique was sentenced to nine years in jail, while Zubaida was handed a three-year jail term by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman on Wednesday.
After the briefing on Thursday, the lawyers held a protest rally. Their Awami League counterparts also held another rally.
Around 2 pm, the groups faced each other in front of the Supreme Court Bar Association secretary and president’s offices and began shouting slogans and shoving each other. At one point, some lawyers proceeded to break into Secretary Abdun Nur Dulal’s office and began smashing things.
They took down the nameplates from Dulal’s room and the office of the association’s President Momtazuddin Fakir next to it.
Momtazuddin later said: “Pro-BNP lawyers caused the incident to create chaos.”
However, Ruhul Quddus Kazal, former secretary of the association, denied the allegations. “After the forum’s briefing ended, [pro-Awami League lawyers] attacked us as we were passing by the secretary and president’s offices. As many as five to seven of our lawyers, including three women, were injured.”
“They’re blaming us after doing it themselves.”
