In Narayanganj, 17 people, including two policemen and a BGB member, were killed and over 200 others injured, 100 with bullets, in a series of clashes between the activists of Hefajat-e-Islam and police in Sadar upazila.
At least 35 vehicles were also vandalised and torched on a three-km area from Kanchpur to Signboard during the violence.
Law enforcers fired several thousand rubber bullets, Chinese rifle bullets and teargas shells and sound grenades to bring the situation under control.
The deceased cops were identified as constable Zakaria Mollah, 44, son of late Akbar Ali of Baliapara village in Bhanga upazila, and Nayek Feroz Khan, 53, son of Kanchan Khan of Nayapara village in Alfadanga upazila of Faridpur district. The deceased BGB man is Shah Alam.
All of the other deceased are passersby.
Ten of them are Saiful Islam, 35, a salesman of a cloth shop in the city and son of late Hasem Contractor of Painadi in Siddhirganj; Polash, 25, owner of a workshop at Madaninagar; Jasim Uddin, 30, a bus helper; Zahidul Islam Saurav, 17, an HSC examinee and son of Enamul of Nimaikashari Baghmara in Siddhirganj; Masum, 30; Hannan, 35, in-charge of iron department of Al Amin Sweater Factory at Siddhirganj; Babu Gazi, 36, a bus driver and a resident of Naria in Shariatpur; Sadeque, 32, son of Rais Miah of Demra who used to supply filtered water to different shops; Habibullah, a rickshaw-puller and son of Abul Munshi of Jarchara in Kachua of Chandpur; and truck helper Mizanul Haque.
Rumours have it that Dania College student Badhan, 17, Bada, 17, of Rani Mohal in Demra and Khaled, 28, of Dogair in Demra were also killed in the clashes.
On information that Hefajat men took shelter at Madaninagar Madrasah, a joint force drawn from police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) tried to conduct a raid on the institution around 6 am.
At one stage, the madrasah students urged locals on the mikes of its mosque to resist the law enforcers. The clash ensued when hundreds of locals with sticks and other locally-made weapons attacked the joint force in response to the call.
Later, the clashes spilled over into the three-km area from Kanchpur to Signboard and continued till the afternoon.
Of the injured, two BGB members–Shah Alalm and Lablu– and five policemen–constables Zakaria, Pannu Mia, Lavlu and Harunur Rashid, and Nayek Feroz, Armed police sub-inspector Solaiman –were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where Shah Alam, Zakaria and Feroz were pronounced dead by doctors.
The unruly activists of the Islamist group also attacked Siddhirganj Power Station and Kanchpur police camp during the clash.
Several journalists and photojournalists also came under attack by the Hefajat men during the violence.
The unruly Hefajat men beat Jugantar photojournalist Shamim Nur and vandalised his motorcycle when he tried to take photos in front of Madaninagar Madrasah. They also manhandled Jugantar Fatullah correspondent Javed Ahmed Jewel when he came in the help of Shamim.
A vehicle of ‘Channel i’ was set on fire while its cameraman Habib was beaten and his camera and laptop were taken away.
Banglanews24.com Narayanganj correspondent Tanvir Hossain, local journalist Imran, photojournalists Saurav Laskar of New Age, Mehedi Hasan Sajib of Daily Samakal, Mohammad Kaiyum of local Desher Alo, Taposh Saha of Ittefaq, Shipon Ahmed of Focus Bangla and Bishal Ahmed were also attacked by the unruly Hefajat men.
The injured were rushed to different hospitals and clinics.
Seven platoons of BGB have been deployed in the area to maintain the law and order, said deputy commissioner Manojkanti Boral.
Claiming the situation was now under control, police super Syed Nurul Islam said traffic resumed on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet highways around 2pm.
In Chittagong, five people were killed and 30 others injured in a clash between Hefajat-e-Islam activists and law enforcers in Hathazari upazila in the afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Mamun Miah, teacher of a local kindergarten and hailed from Rajshahi, Mohammad Hanif, 35, Jasim Uddin, 30, Mohammad Noman, 26, and Mohammad Mamun, 24, of the upazila.
Witnesses said the Hefajat men blocked Rangamati-Khagrachhari road at Medical Gate in the morning protesting the raid on Shapla Chattar in the capital removing the Hefajat men.
The clash ensued when police asked them to withdraw the blockade around 3pm.
A chase and counter-chase took place between the Hefajat men and the law enforcers comprising police and members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh and Armed Police Battalion during the melee.
At one stage, the law enforcers fired several gunshots to disperse them, leaving three killed on the spot and others injured.
The injured were rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where Jasim and Noman died around 5:30 pm.
Traffic on Rangamati-Khagrachhari road came to a halt following the incident.
Nizam Uddin, assistant superintendent of police (Hathazari Circle), said the situation remained under control and a huge number of law enforcers were patrolling in the area to fend off further untoward incident.
In Bagerhat, a Hefajat man was killed and 41 people, including 25 cops, were injured in a clash between police and the Islamist group supporters at Kathaltala in Fakirhat upazila in the afternoon, said Pankaj Chandra Roy, acting police super of Bagerhat.
The clash ensued when police tried to disperse several hundred activities of Hefajat-e-Islam, including female ones, when they were blocking Bagerhat-Khulna highway by placing logs and lampposts around 2pm.
A chase and counter-chase took place between the two groups. The Hefajat men also pelted the law enforcers with brickbats, leaving at least 25 policemen injured.
At one stage, police fired several gunshots and charged baton on the Hefajat men, leaving the unidentified man killed on the spot and 16 others, including two journalists, injured.
STARTLING NEWS: BANGLADESH HAS BEEN SAVED FROM BECOMING PAKISTAN AGAIN: BRILLIANT HOME MINISTER ALERTED THE INTELLIGENCE AND THEY DISCOVERED MINIATURE PAKISTANI ATOMIC ISLAMIC BOMB JUST BEFORE THESES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE EXPLODED!
Hasina or her apostate gang have not as yet declared that the CID found miniature Pakistani Islamic Atom Bomb in Hefajat’s office in LALBAGH. just before these ATOM BOMBS were to be exploded in GONO VOBON, BONGO VOBON, Parliament, Bangladeshi banks and the Secretariat to destroy the country , put Khaleda in power again, and to hoist the flag of Pakistan !
Already dead Ghadanic Gonomoncho is closed. It died when Iron man General Hussain Muhammad Ershad kicked it hard in its head.
This belated cosmetic operation is a public relation gimmick. It would not work. Hasina has to abandon her de-Islamization programme, restore the deleted sentence regarding ALLAH in our constitution, withdraw the Islamic greatest title she conferred on dead apostate, release all political prisoners, held election under a caretaker government and stop naming all her opposition/critics as WAR CRIMINALS, RAZAKARS, Else Sylhet will opt out of Apostate run secular anti Islamic Bangladesh. If Sylhet goes, Chittagong will go too. And there would be no Bangladesh. We are serious., This is not wishful thinking. WE WILL NOT SUBSTITUTE ISLAM WITH ANYTHING.
What happened at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka on May 5 and the night was as shocking as unbelievable. Though the govt in its usual tradition of denial disclaimed all atrocious actions of the so-called law and order forces, a number of pictures show who torched the shops on the footpaths and the bookshops burning the holy books. While we saw that Hefazat people could not approach as near as the Nationa Sports Centre, 50 yards away from Baitul Mukarram, who were the people that set ablaze the bookshops burning the holy books? There are many pictures that show the student and youth wing of the Awami League beating any and every Hefazat man who came within their reach on the south of Baitul Mukarram mosque. A few of the pictures may also have been e-mailed to Bangladesh Chronicle which may please be seen. Most ironically the language the Secretary General of the ruling party used about Hefazat and the actions of the L&O forces along with the ruling party cadres clearly indicates that we are living under a totally autocratic rule. Our Liberation War hero ‘Tiger Siddiqui’ has also raised question how Bangladeshi L&O forces could maintain ‘peace’ abroad who kill their own people with the weapons purchased with that very people’s money. And obviously the number of Hefazat people killed should be much, much larger than reported.