NCP southern region chief organiser and Cumilla-4 lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah said police cannot both serve as law enforcers and implement a party agenda. He made the remarks during an argument with police officers who stopped NCP leaders travelling to a rally in Habiganj on Wednesday. He said those wishing to engage in politics should do so openly under a BNP banner.

Hasnat alleged that police were blocking NCP leaders instead of detaining people who posed security threats. He asked officers under which law they were preventing him from proceeding. The National Citizen Party, or NCP, called Wednesday's protest over allegations of an attack during Tuesday's “July Padayatra”.

NCP central leaders and activists, led by convenor Nahid Islam, had set out for Habiganj to join the programme but were stopped at several points along the route, the report said. As of the latest update in the afternoon, they were stationed on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Kamaichhara in Bahubal upazila amid police barriers. Heavy rain began during the standoff, and NCP leaders remained there despite being soaked.