BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday claimed a city BNP leader had died during a raid by plainclothes men early yesterday in the capital's Vatara area.

He made the claim at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan office. The BNP leader alleged that plainclothes men raided the house of BNP's senior vice president Kafil Uddin in Solmaid area at Vatara thana ward-40 early yesterday.

“In fear, Kafil took shelter on the building's rooftop. At that time, the plainclothes men also tortured his son. Later, they caught Kafil and pushed him off from the rooftop.”

Kafil was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Some locals also said Kafil fell from the balcony of the third floor.

During Kafil's janaza, family members said that he had died in an “unexpected” incident. When asked about the details, they refused to comment further on the matter.

Kafil was buried at the family graveyard in Vatara.

Mahfuzur Rahman, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Vatara Police Station, denied the allegation and said he was not aware of such an incident.

No case was filed in this connection, he added.

Afterwards, BNP nominee Shamim Ara Begum visited the deceased's house yesterday morning and said they would inform the matter to the Election Commission.