Dhaka, Oct 25 (IANS): A Bangladesh National Party (BNP) leader and 63 activists were arrested here Saturday for allegedly planning violent activities.
Moazzem Hossain Alal, president of the party's youth affiliate, Juba Dal and the activists were arrested during a meeting at his residence, bdnews24.com quoted a police official as saying.
"They were in a meeting at the basement of the building at Lalmatia. We had information that the meeting was meant to plan for violent activities during Sunday's strike," the official said.
"The raid was conducted on receiving that information," he said.
The BNP leader has been taken to the Detective Branch headquarters, the official added.
A coalition of Islamist groups, Sammilito Islami Dal-Samuho, has called a dawn-to-dusk countrywide shutdown Sunday demanding the arrest of former minister, Abdul Latif Siddique.