Dhaka: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called an urgent press conference on Wednesday morning, following the sudden arrests of BNP leaders and search raids at some of BNP members’ residences.

BNP Press Wing official Shayrul Kabir Khan told NTV Online the party’s secretary general will address a press briefing at about 11:00am at party’s Nayapaltan office.

Earlier, Detectives reportedly detained BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and its executive committee member Anindya Islam Amit in the city on Tuesday night ahead of the court verdicts to be delivered on February 8 in a graft case of the party chairperson Khaleda Zia.

BNP chairperson’s media wing member Shamsuddin Didar told UNB that a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up from Goyessor in front of Police Plaza Concord Shopping Mall in the city’s Gulshan area, reports the UNB.

He said Gayeshwar was returning from the BNP chief’s Gulshan office.

Didar said, another team of DB police arrested Amit, son of BNP standing committee member Toriqul Islam, from his Shantinagar residence at midnight.

The BNP leaders also alleged that they have got information that police started raiding the house of BNP joint secretary general Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohel, Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP general secretary Ahsan Ullah Hassan, and Swechchhasebak Dal president Shafiul Bari Babu at midnight.

BNP demanded the government immediately release Gayeshwar and stop arresting and harassing BNP leaders.