5,500 sued for attacking police

 Sundarganj police station Sub-inspector Shahjahan files the case

  • A team of Joint Forces relax on a street in Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Sunday after they were rescued by another team of Joint Forces in the morning

A case has been filed against some 5,500 leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir for allegedly blasting crude bombs, attacking law enforcers and obstructing them from performing duties in Sundarganj upazila of the district on Saturday night.

Sundarganj police station Sub-inspector Shahjahan lodged the case against 5,500 people, including upazila Jamaat Ameer Younus Ali on Sunday night, a day after the violent attack on the law enforcers. Of the accused, 67 were named while the rest were unnamed, said police.

Inspector (Investigation) of Sundarganj police station Golam Mostafa said a total of nine Jamaat-Shibir activists were arrested in connection with the case so far and they were sent to jail.

Earlier on Saturday, Jamaat-Shibir activists swooped on a police team after circulating a rumour through loudspeakers of mosques that their village fell prey to robbers leading to a deadly clash that left 50 people injured including 22 policemen.

The clash erupted as a police team went to Khanabari and Kadamtala areas under Sundarganj upazila early Saturday to arrest Jamaat-shibir men accused in cases filed for killing policemen in Gaibandha.

The Jamaat-Shibir men torched a pick-up van of police and vandalised nearly 12 houses during the nearly eight-hour clash. They encircled the police team which went first to make the arrest.

On that day in 2013, after the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) delivered death sentence against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee for crimes against humanity during the country’s liberation war in 1971, Jamaat-Shibir men unleashed a reign of terror in Sunderganj.

They attacked a police camp at Bamondanga and lynched four constables to death. Four more people were also killed in the violence.

Police filed some 32 cases in this connection.

Source: Dhaka Tribune