Dhaka, Nov. 3 -- A Facebook post by a BNP leader in Kushtia expressing disillusionment with his party has triggered a public exchange between Bangladesh's press minister in Delhi and Kushtia district police, with conflicting accounts of alleged pressure to arrest the activist.

The controversy began on Monday afternoon when Mustafizur Rahman Mustak, a BNP leader in Khoksa, posted: "If people commit great sins in their previous lives, they become BNP members in this life."

About an hour later, Bangladesh High Commission Press Minister in Delhi Saidur Rahman shared the post, claiming a powerful group was pressuring police to arrest Mustak at the behest of another BNP leader.

Kushtia district police rejected the allegation as "false" in a ...