Ctg Hefajat long march crosses Comilla

Several thousand activists wait for vehicles at Wasa Intersection; leaders to fix next programme if they do not get transportations; assault 4 media men

Hefajat-e Islam holds a rally after Juma prayers before the Jamiatul Falah Mosque at Wasa intersection in Chittagong on Friday. Photo: STAR
Hefajat-e Islam holds a rally after Juma prayers before the Jamiatul Falah Mosque at Wasa intersection in Chittagong on Friday. Photo: STAR

A convoy of Hefajat-e Islam long march towards Dhaka crossed Comilla Friday evening as the activists started from Chittagong a day before their scheduled programme on April 6.

More than 650 vehicles carrying several thousand Hefajat activists reached Comilla around 4:45pm.

More than 150 vehicles including bus and truck joined the Hefazat’s Chittagong motorcade while it was crossing Mohipal of Feni around 2:53pm.

Since early morning to 10:30am, more than 500 vehicles including bus, minibus, microbus and truck have left the port city towards Dhaka, Azizul Haque Islamambadi, organising secretary of Hefajat-e-Islam, claimed while talking to The Daily Star.

The long march activists said since pro-liberation organisations have called a countrywide shutdown from Friday evening, they have started for the capital in the morning.

Meanwhile, following the gathering of several thousand people and a large number of vehicles before the Jamiatul Falah Mosque at Wasa Intersection, transportations came to a halt from Lalkhan Bazar to Bahaddarhat area for more than two hours from 8:00am.

The Hefajat men started gathering before the mosque in the city from different villages and madrasas of several upazilas of the district soon after the Fazr prayer.

Later, they started for Dhaka riding different vehicles including bus, minibus and truck around 8:00am, reports our correspondent from Chittagong quoting Islamambadi.

In the meantime, a large number of the Islamist party activists have also been waiting in front of the mosque finding no vehicle to start for the capital.

Ilias Osmani, finance secretary of Hefajat, held a rally there and urged the Chittagong Transport Owners’ Association to rent their vehicles, so that they could start the journey.

Osmani said the transport owners earlier promised to rent vehicles but suddenly stopped supplying their vehicles to the party “being convinced by the government”.

Meanwhile, Mainuddin Ruhi, joint general secretary, of Hefajat claimed that activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League obstructed their motorcade at Mirsarai and Sitakunda areas.

After the Juma prayers, around 4,000 activists of the Hefajat held a rally at Wasa Intersection.

Harun Izhar, the publicity secretary of Hefajat, said that would wait on the street until the evening and announce next course of action if transportation were not managed by the time.

The aggrieved Hefajat men physically assaulted four journalists of private television channel Ekattor television around 2:30pm, while they were covering the rally.

The four newsmen are: Mohim Mizan, Mainuddin Dulal, Babul Paal and Rajib Barua.

Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh, a Qawmi Madrasa-based organisation, last month announced the long march towards Dhaka to press home their 13-point demand including the passage of law under which “highest punishment” would be delivered to the “atheist bloggers who insulted Islam.”

Over 25 pro-liberation organisations on Wednesday decided to call for a countrywide 24-hour hartal, from 6:00pm Friday, to resist Hefajat-e-Islam’s Dhaka long march on Saturday.

Later on Thursday, the Islamist party threatened to launch a non-stop shutdown from April 7, if the 24-hour hartal called by pro-liberation organisations is not withdrawn.

Hours later, the Gonojagoron Mancha called a countrywide road blockade from 6:00pm Friday to 4:00pm Saturday to counter Hefajat’s long march towards Dhaka.

It also urged all rail, road and waterway transport owners and workers to cooperate and make the blockade a success.

BGB DEPLOYMENT

BGB personnel were deployed in Hathajari and Sitakunda upazilas of Chittagong since 6:00am on Friday to avert any untoward situation, said Abdul Mannan, Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong.

The BGB will remain deployed until 6:00pm on Saturday.

Source: The Daily Star