Gazipur: Over 10 months after his arrest, Bangladesh Nationalist Party joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was freed from jail on bail on Monday.

The BNP leader walked out of Kashimpur Central Jail-2 around 5:20pm after his release order reached the jail authorities, said jail super Prashanta Kumar Banik.

His family members, including his wife, and some BNP leaders and activists received Rizvi at the jail gate.

Soon after his release, Rizvi first went to his residence in the capital’s Shaymoli area and then met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence on night.

Earlier on November 24, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court order that granted bail to Rizvi in two arson attack cases, removing the all barriers to his release as he had got bail in other cases earlier.

The two cases were filed against Rizvi and others over a petrol bomb attack on a bus in Chauddagram upazila in Comilla during BNP-led alliance’s movement early this year.

On November 2, the HC granted interim bail to the BNP leader in the two cases.

Amid the BNP’s non-stop countrywide transport blockade, members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Rizvi from his hideout at a house in the city’s Baridhara area on January 31 as he was issuing statement in favour of his party and announcing hartal and other programmes from there.

Later, he was shown arrested in many cases relating to violence and arson attacks took place during the BNP-led 20-party’s movement.