Two hundred branch offices of the organisation across the country were 'unofficially' closed yesterday as its 15 thousand staff are scared by the government's sudden action. Proshika staff refrained from attending offices yesterday to avoid government harassment and arrests, sources in the NGO told The Daily Star.

Law enforcers arrested 17 more officials of the organisation between Sunday night and yesterday evening raising the number of arrestees to 137. The law enforcing agencies also continued to raid Proshika offices across the country and kept the branch offices under sharp watch.

Many officials of the organisation are even staying out of their residences to avoid arrests, said Proshika officials.

The crackdown on Proshika staff was launched on Saturday allegedly in suspicion of the organisation's preparation to send a large number of people to Dhaka to take part in the 14-party programme of laying siege to the Prime Minister's Office today and an opposition grand rally on September 18.

According to sources in the NGO, some staff of the organisation are continuing their development activities at grassroots level, but they are not attending offices, as they are afraid that they might also be arrested.

Proshika in a statement yesterday strongly condemned and protested the 'illegal arrests', and oppressive harassment by the government. The organisation demanded immediate and unconditional release of its arrested staff including its Deputy Director Sirajul Islam. It also demanded a stop to the 'baseless attack'.

It said the ruling four-party alliance government, especially the fundamentalist components within it, have been actively trying to destroy the NGO.

Some other political parties and social organisations also condemned the crackdown terming it a 'violation of human rights'.

CHITTAGONG
Our Chittagong office reported that police yesterday arrested six officials and employees of Proshika from the NGO's Double Mooring office in the city immediately after they had come to work in the morning.

The arrested officials are Quamruzzaman, Md Hasan, Md Tayab, Mohiuddin, Noor Mohammad and Niladri Barua.

Sammilita Nagorik Andolon will organise demonstrations including a rally in front of Chittagong Press Club and a march tomorrow afternoon protesting the mass arrest.

Andolon leaders in a press statement last evening said the arrests and harassment of Proshika staff revealed the fascist nature of the present government.

TANGAIL
Our Tangail correspondent reported that the offices of the organisation in the district were locked yesterday.

All officials and employees of Proshika in the district went into hiding to evade arrests, local Proshika sources said.

A senior police official in Tangail seeking anonymity told The Daily Star that the government had issued a directive to arrest Proshika staff.

Admitting to the arrests, Superintendent of Tangail Police Morshed Alam said all the arrestees were produced before a court.

RANGPUR
Our Rangpur correspondent reported that all officials and employees of Proshika fled the district keeping two offices of the NGO closed yesterday.

Sources close to the organisation said the officials and employees left Rangpur on Sunday immediately after they had heard the news of arrests of their colleagues in different places of the country.

BARISAL
Our Barisal correspondent reported that offices and employees of Proshika are under surveillance by different security agencies but no arrest was made till filing of this report.

Md Sarwar Hossain, superintendent of Proshika regional office in Barisal, said, "We are feeling that we are under strong surveillance by different security agencies and have seen the presence of their personnel around our offices."

CHANDPUR
Our Chandpur correspondent reported that the four zonal offices of Proshika in Faridganj upazila are now on the verge of shut down.

Due to the panic sparked by the arrests no work was done in the offices yesterday. Officer-in-charge of Faridganj Police Station Saikul Islam said, "We are keeping our eyes on Proshika but we are not making any more arrest now until we get further order from the top level."

PROTESTS
Expressing concern over the crackdown the Proshika statement said police arrested over a hundred of its staff without any arrest warrant and despite having no case against them.

The statement also said police and other law enforcement agencies of the government kept many of the NGO's offices surrounded across the country and ransacked some of them destroying valuable documents and creating panic among the organisation's staff.

The alliance government have been trying to destroy Proshika since it assumed power, the statement alleged.

"Especially the fundamentalist components within the government have been very active regarding the matter," the statement added.

Members of the executive council of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (Adab) protested the arrests of Proshika staff and said the arrests are in clear violation of fundamental and human rights.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Huq Inu and its Secretary Syed Zafar Sazzad also issued a statement protesting the arrests and harassment of Proshika staff.