The killing of five people, vandalism, arrests, explosions of crude bombs and ransacking and torching of vehicles marked the nationwide daylong hartal enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Jamaat enforced the hartal protesting what it said the government’s plot to annihilate the party and demanding the immediate release of its former ameer Ghulam Azam.
The killings were reported in Kushtia, Chapainawabganj and Satkhira districts.
In Kushita, two activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student front of Jamaat, were killed in a lynch-mob attack while picketing at Halsa village in Mirpur upazila early Monday. They are Mukit Tarun, 22, and Sabuj Ahmed, 18.
In Chapainawabganj, Jamaat activist Nurul Islam, 45, and Shibir man Ziaur Rahman were killed in a clash with law enforcers at Rasulpur intersection in Shibganj upazila during the nationwide daylong hartal on Monday.
In Satkhira, local Awami League leader Abdul Aziz was killed in an attack by Jamaat-Shibir men in Debhata upazila in the morning.
Besides, around 135 vehicles were vandalised and 22 others torched, about 160 crude bombs were exploded, 137 people were injured in clashes with law enforcers while 76 arrested across the country during the hartal hours.
In the capital, pickets exploded at least 15 crude bombs at Demra, Rayerbagh and Dhalpur of Jatrabari in the morning.
Pickets torched three human haulers (Leguna) at Shajahanpur and in Muktijoddha Sangsad Market area in Mirpur.
Unruly Jamaat-Shibir men vandalised five vehicles in the city’s Rayerbagh area in the morning.
At least 22 people, including 5/6 journalists and two policemen, were injured in separate clashes between hartal supporters and police at Demra and Dhalpur.
At about 6:30am, pickets made a fire on rail line pouring petrol in Doyaganj area. Later, police extinguished the blaze.
At about 7am, pickets snatched a pistol from a police officer during a clash between police and them in Nodda under Bhatara Police Station.
Vehicular movement on the city streets was almost normal.
Huge police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members were put on high alert in the city to avert any unpleasant incident during the hartal hours.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from different districts across the country.
The districts include Narayanganj, Chandpur, Noagaon, Satkhira, Sirajganj, Jhalakati, Jhenidah, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajbari, Pabna, Chittagong, Bogra, Comilla, Satkhira, Natore, Laxmipur, Cox’s Bazar, Joypurhat and Barisal.
In Joypurhat, train communications on Joypurhat-Shantahar route remained suspended for two hours following the removal of fishplates by the pickets in the district town.
The railway station sources the hartal supporters removed fishplates in Urir Pool and Madhabpur areas ahead of their shutdown, disrupting train communications.
