Dhaka, Dec. 25 -- Abu Taleb was among thousands of Bangladeshis hoping to catch a glimpse of BNP's acting chief Tarique Rahman on his homecoming after 17 years in exile. By the time he reached Kuril on Thursday morning, the area had already turned into a sea of people.

Unable to move any further, the 60-year-old ditched plans to go on. Instead, he took up a spot on the road divider just before the road merged into the Kuril flyover. It was around 10am.

From Kuril to the venue on the 300 Feet Road -- where Tarique Rahman was due to deliver his first in-person speech in Bangladesh in nearly two decades -- hundreds of people lined the streets, waiting for hours.

Tarique's motorcade crossed the Kuril flyover around 2pm. By then, Taleb had ...