Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday termed the Gulshan-1 Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) market fire an act of 'sabotage', saying the ruling party had a link to it to grab the market.

"Assessing the government's gradual activities,  it can be clearly understood that the Gulshan-1 DNCC market fire was an act of sabotage, and the ruling party's link was behind it," said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Speaking at a press briefing at BNP's Nayapaltan central office, he further said, "That's why they're giving statements shifting the blame onto others to hush up their misdeeds and failures.  The fire incident is a premeditated sabotage aiming to embezzle the DNCC market."

Rizvi urged traders and shop owners of the market to remain alert so that the incident does not go under carpet for lack of a fair probe, and no one can evict them from the market, reports news agency UNB.

He claimed that the businessmen have already turned down the probe body formed by the government as eyewash to look into the matter.

The BNP leader alleged that the ruling party men are now trying to grab public property to become the owner of the entire country.

He demanded a fair and transparent investigation into the incident to unmask those carried out the sabotage and ensure exemplary punishment to them.

Rizvi also urged the government to take necessary steps to provide compensation to the victims.

Several hundred shops were gutted and a portion of the market collapsed after a fire broke out at the two-storey Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) market Early Tuesday. It was not still clear what caused the fire.

Earlier on Wednesday, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir visited the fire-ravaged market and demanded a neutral probe involving experts into the incident to ascertain whether it was a premeditated one.

Rizvi slammed DNCC mayor Annisul Huq for his earlier comment that the market fire was an accident, not an act of sabotage. "The mayor termed the fire an accident without any investigation."

He said it has become a regular practice here now to hamper a proper investigation by making advance comment by the Prime Minister, ruling party leaders and administrative officials when any incident happens.