Dhaka: BNP senior leaders and activists failed to meet their chairperson Khaleda Zia at the Old Central Jail in the capital on the Eid day on Saturday.

Senior BNP leaders, including standing committee members and vice chairmen, along with several hundred leaders and activists went to the jail gait around 12:15pm to meet Khaleda, reports the UNB.

Police, however, obstructed them nearly half a kilometre away from the jail gate as they did not have permission from jail authorities to meet Khaleda.

Talking to reporters, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they sought permission from the authorities concern three days back.

‘Usually, prisoners are allowed to meet their near and dear ones on Eid day, but police are not allowing us to meet our beloved leader. It’s very painful,’ he said.

Among others, Mirza Fakhrul, BNP standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam, vice chairmen Barkatullah Bhulu, Abdul Awal Mintoo, AZM Zahid Hossain, Ahmed Azam Khan and party chairperson’s adviser Joynal Abedin Faruk went to meet Khaleda at the old central jail.

After waiting for half an hour, they left the place being failed to meet her.

Meanwhile, leaders and activists of the party chanted various slogans, demanding immediate release of their chairperson from the jail.

Earlier in the day, Mirza Fakhrul along with BNP leaders and activists went to its founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and offered fateha there.

On February 8, Khaleda Zia was sent to jail after a special court sentenced her to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.