By Sumi Khan

Dhaka, Apr 18 (IANS): Mirza Abbas, a leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has urged the expulsion of some "snakes" from the party who he held responsible for the 2012 disappearance of another senior member M Ilias Ali.

"A night before Ali disappeared, he was locked in an altercation with a man in the party office. Ali hurled abuse at him during the argument. The 'snakes' are still in the party. If they are not expelled from the BNP, then the party will not be able to move forward under any circumstance," Abbas said on Saturday while virtually addressing the party's Secretary General, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, regarding the disappearance.

Without mentioning any names, Mirza, a member of BNP's Standing Committee, said many were already aware of the "faces of those people hiding inside the party".

He also claimed the ruling Awami League (AL) government did not abduct Ali, the then organising secretary of the BNP.

"I know the AL government did not abduct him. So who abducted him? I want to know this from the government. A political leader went missing from the country. One of our leaders, Salauddin, was trafficked out of the country. Our Chowdhury Alam was a victim of forced disappeared. I convinced myself that this government did not do it. So who actually did it? Couldn't the government bring those criminals to book?" he queried.

Ali with his personal car driver were reported missing on April 18, 2012, from Dhaka.

Later that day, local police recovered his abandoned car near his residence in Banani neighbourhood and found the driver's mobile phone inside.

They have not been seen since.