Hartal passes off; 5 dead in violence
Dhaka, Feb 24 (UNB) – At least five people, including a woman, were killed and 100 others injured during the countrywide daylong hartal enforced by 12 Islamic and like-minded parties on Sunday.
Thirty-seven people were also arrested, including four from capital Dhaka, during the shutdown. The rest of the arrest was reported from Barguna, Gazipur, Bogra, Laxmipur and Manikganj districts.
Besides, a number of vehicles were damaged by hartal supporters who also blocked roads and burned tyres at different parts of the country during the hartal hours.
In Manikganj, a fierce clash between police and villagers at Gobindhal village in Singair upazila reportedly left five people dead and 55 others injured, 20 with bullets.
The villagers identified the deceased as Nasir Uddin, Jamaat finance affairs secretary of Gobindhal union, Jamaat worker Nazimuddin and three villagers -- Shah Alam, Alamgir Hossain and Helena Begum.
Protesting the killings, Olama Mashayekh O Towhidi Janata called a daylong hartal in Manikganj district for Monday.
The local unit of BNP also extended its support to the hartal.
Police, however, could not yet confirm the killing of the five people in the clash. “We’ve heard one or two have been killed. It’s yet to be confirmed,” Additional SP of Manikganj Mizanur Rahman told UNB over phone.
Witnesses said a group of hartal supporters took to the streets and blocked the Manikganj-Singair road at Gobindhal at about 10am. At one stage, Awami League Singair upazila secretary Abdul Majed aided by party activists obstructed the pickets.
Moments later, the pickets got united and launched an attack on Majed and assaulted him mercilessly, leaving the AL leader injured. He was admitted to the Upazila Health Complex.
As the news of the attack spread around, AL men rushed to the spot and vandalised the local BNP office and nearby shops.
Protesting the attack, BNP and hartal supporters put barricades by placing logs and burning tyres on Singair-Manikganj road and Dhaka-Manikganj highway.
Later, several hundred villagers, both men and women, came down to the streets and locked into fierce clashes with the policemen.
At one stage, the police opened fire and teargas shells to disperse the unruly protestors that left about 55 people, including cops, injured. Of the injured, 20 were hurt by bullets.
The injured were taken to Singair Upazila Health Complex where three of them, Nazim, Shah Alam and Alamgir, succumbed to their wounds.
Two others, Helena and Nasir, who suffered bullet wounds, died on the way to the capital, said UNB Manikganj correspondent.
Police Super Mohammad Ali Mia said 15 cops, including officer-in-charge of Singair Police Station, were injured in the clash.
The SP said the situation was brought under control as three platoons of police and huge Rab members have been deployed there.
Meanwhile, almost all male residents of Gobindhal and nearby villages have left their areas following the clash fearing arrest by law enforcers.
The law enforcers launched a vigorous drive in the areas following the clash, locals said.
Apart from the Manikganj incident, the hartal was observed amid some stray incidents with relatively the lower presence of pickets on the streets in the capital and elsewhere in the country.
The shutdown from 6am-to-6pm saw a significant number of motorised vehicles plying the streets at different parts of the capital, as there was little presence of pickets.
The city life was almost normal since there was no report of any major incident.
Huge law enforcers comprising police and Rab members were deployed to avert any untoward incident during the hartal hours.
The Barisal district was kept outside the purview of the hartal today due to a four-day yearly mahfil (a religious gathering) of Charmonai Peer that began in Sadar upazila on Sunday morning.
However, no long distance buses from Barisal Nathullabad and Rupatali central bus terminals of the city departed here during hartal period.
Islamic and like-minded parties enforced the shutdown protesting what they said attacks on their Friday’s demonstrations, and also demanding punishment of ‘atheist’ bloggers.
Maulana Shah Ahmadullah Ashraf, ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, announced the hartal programme at a press briefing in the city on Friday.
In the capital, pro-hartal activists set a human hauler (Leguna) ablaze in the city’s Dahapur of Jatrabari around 6:15am.
At the same time, another group of pro-hartal activists exploded several crude bombs at Janopath intersection. One of the bombs hit a pickup van of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).
At about 7:15 am, the hartal supporters brought out a procession in the city’s Shahjahanpur area only to be foiled by police.
Besides, police fired blank shots in Bijoynagar area of the city around 8:15am.
Educational institutions, shops remained closed, but no long-distance bus left Mohakhali and Gabtoli bus stands in the city.
Meanwhile, the Shahbagh protesters brought out an anti-hartal procession from Shahbagh Square that ended at the same venue after parading Matsaya Bhaban, Press Club and Dainik Bangla Intersection.
The ruling Awami League and its associate bodies also brought out anti-hartal processions at different parts of the capital.
Earlier, the main opposition BNP on Saturday extended its support to the countrywide shutdown but there was no visible presence of the BNP supporters on the streets.
Four people were killed and around 300 injured as activists of several Islamic parties, protesting ‘anti-Islam’ campaign by ‘some Shahbagh bloggers’, clashed with police at different parts of the country on Friday.
Thirty-seven people were also arrested, including four from capital Dhaka, during the shutdown. The rest of the arrest was reported from Barguna, Gazipur, Bogra, Laxmipur and Manikganj districts.
Besides, a number of vehicles were damaged by hartal supporters who also blocked roads and burned tyres at different parts of the country during the hartal hours.
In Manikganj, a fierce clash between police and villagers at Gobindhal village in Singair upazila reportedly left five people dead and 55 others injured, 20 with bullets.
The villagers identified the deceased as Nasir Uddin, Jamaat finance affairs secretary of Gobindhal union, Jamaat worker Nazimuddin and three villagers -- Shah Alam, Alamgir Hossain and Helena Begum.
Protesting the killings, Olama Mashayekh O Towhidi Janata called a daylong hartal in Manikganj district for Monday.
The local unit of BNP also extended its support to the hartal.
Police, however, could not yet confirm the killing of the five people in the clash. “We’ve heard one or two have been killed. It’s yet to be confirmed,” Additional SP of Manikganj Mizanur Rahman told UNB over phone.
Witnesses said a group of hartal supporters took to the streets and blocked the Manikganj-Singair road at Gobindhal at about 10am. At one stage, Awami League Singair upazila secretary Abdul Majed aided by party activists obstructed the pickets.
Moments later, the pickets got united and launched an attack on Majed and assaulted him mercilessly, leaving the AL leader injured. He was admitted to the Upazila Health Complex.
As the news of the attack spread around, AL men rushed to the spot and vandalised the local BNP office and nearby shops.
Protesting the attack, BNP and hartal supporters put barricades by placing logs and burning tyres on Singair-Manikganj road and Dhaka-Manikganj highway.
Later, several hundred villagers, both men and women, came down to the streets and locked into fierce clashes with the policemen.
At one stage, the police opened fire and teargas shells to disperse the unruly protestors that left about 55 people, including cops, injured. Of the injured, 20 were hurt by bullets.
The injured were taken to Singair Upazila Health Complex where three of them, Nazim, Shah Alam and Alamgir, succumbed to their wounds.
Two others, Helena and Nasir, who suffered bullet wounds, died on the way to the capital, said UNB Manikganj correspondent.
Police Super Mohammad Ali Mia said 15 cops, including officer-in-charge of Singair Police Station, were injured in the clash.
The SP said the situation was brought under control as three platoons of police and huge Rab members have been deployed there.
Meanwhile, almost all male residents of Gobindhal and nearby villages have left their areas following the clash fearing arrest by law enforcers.
The law enforcers launched a vigorous drive in the areas following the clash, locals said.
Apart from the Manikganj incident, the hartal was observed amid some stray incidents with relatively the lower presence of pickets on the streets in the capital and elsewhere in the country.
The shutdown from 6am-to-6pm saw a significant number of motorised vehicles plying the streets at different parts of the capital, as there was little presence of pickets.
The city life was almost normal since there was no report of any major incident.
Huge law enforcers comprising police and Rab members were deployed to avert any untoward incident during the hartal hours.
The Barisal district was kept outside the purview of the hartal today due to a four-day yearly mahfil (a religious gathering) of Charmonai Peer that began in Sadar upazila on Sunday morning.
However, no long distance buses from Barisal Nathullabad and Rupatali central bus terminals of the city departed here during hartal period.
Islamic and like-minded parties enforced the shutdown protesting what they said attacks on their Friday’s demonstrations, and also demanding punishment of ‘atheist’ bloggers.
Maulana Shah Ahmadullah Ashraf, ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, announced the hartal programme at a press briefing in the city on Friday.
In the capital, pro-hartal activists set a human hauler (Leguna) ablaze in the city’s Dahapur of Jatrabari around 6:15am.
At the same time, another group of pro-hartal activists exploded several crude bombs at Janopath intersection. One of the bombs hit a pickup van of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).
At about 7:15 am, the hartal supporters brought out a procession in the city’s Shahjahanpur area only to be foiled by police.
Besides, police fired blank shots in Bijoynagar area of the city around 8:15am.
Educational institutions, shops remained closed, but no long-distance bus left Mohakhali and Gabtoli bus stands in the city.
Meanwhile, the Shahbagh protesters brought out an anti-hartal procession from Shahbagh Square that ended at the same venue after parading Matsaya Bhaban, Press Club and Dainik Bangla Intersection.
The ruling Awami League and its associate bodies also brought out anti-hartal processions at different parts of the capital.
Earlier, the main opposition BNP on Saturday extended its support to the countrywide shutdown but there was no visible presence of the BNP supporters on the streets.
Four people were killed and around 300 injured as activists of several Islamic parties, protesting ‘anti-Islam’ campaign by ‘some Shahbagh bloggers’, clashed with police at different parts of the country on Friday.
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