Despite the Police's Forbidden, the Jamaat is Gathering at Shapla Chattar

Asaduzzaman, Head of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said that if Jamaat-E-Islami leaders and activists gather, action will be taken against them according to the law. He said this in response to questions from the media when he visited Motijheel in the capital this morning on Saturday (October 28).

Asaduzzaman said Jamaat-e-Islami was not allowed to hold a rally. If their leaders and activists gather, action will be taken against them as per existing laws.

He also said that sufficient number of policemen have been deployed in the capital.

Earlier the Jamaat had announced to hold a mass meeting at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel. The party informed the DMP in a letter. However, the written permission to hold the mass meeting at Shapla Chattar was not received. After that, the leaders and activists of the party started gathering in Motijheel area from Saturday morning.

Meanwhile leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh have congregated in Arambagh in preparation for their planned rally at Motijheel's Shapla intersection.

The rally is set to begin at 2 pm on Saturday, coinciding with the highly anticipated gatherings of the BNP and the ruling Awami League in the city.

However, police said that a BNP procession was passing through the area, and some of their activists had stationed themselves on the road. As such, it was difficult to determine whether they belonged to the BNP or Jamaat, according to Joint Commissioner Liton Kumar Das of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Advocate Abdur Razzak, the assistant general secretary of Jamaat's legal department, said adherents of the group had gathered at Arambagh ahead of their rally. "I will also head to the Shapla intersection in due time."

The BNP is set to stage a mass rally in Naya Paltan in the afternoon to press for the formation of a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee the upcoming national election.

In response to the BNP's programme, the ruling Awami League will also hold a 'peace rally' in the afternoon, raising the political temperature ahead of the upcoming national election.

While the Jamaat-e-Islami has not formally allied itself with the BNP, it is planning a rally at the Shapla intersection in Motijheel to demand the release of its leaders and the establishment of a caretaker government.

However, the police have prohibited their assembly, placing barricades on the road near the Shapla intersection since the morning.