The nationwide daylong hartal, called by Jamaat-e-Islami and left-leaning student organsations over the verdict of ex-Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam in a war crime case, is progressing amid stray incidents of explosion and vandalism across the country today (Tuesday), which left two people dead and 23 others arrested.
Two local leaders of Jamaat and Shibir were killed in police firing during a clash with police at Paokhali in Kaliganj upazila Satkhira during the shutdown.
Police arrested at least 23 leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir from different areas of Joypurhat and Comilla districts during harlal hours.
In the capital, activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, associate body of Jamaat for students, exploded about 12 crude bombs during the shutdown.
Shibir activists blasted 4-5 crude bombs at Shanir Akhra at 6.00am and 2-3 crude bombs at Maniknagar at 8:45am, creating a panicky situation among the dwellers of the areas.
At 6:30am, Shibir activists exploded two crude bombs at Panthapath.
They blasted two bombs from a procession in Kajlarpar area at 6:15am and police fired two blank shots to disperse them.
Pickets made a fire on the road by pouring petrol in Pallabi bus stand area at 7:40 am. Later police doused the fire.
On the other hand, left-leaning student organsations brought out a procession in Paltan area in support of their hartal.
In Gazipur, Shibir activists torched a bus of ‘Sky Line Paribahan’ on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway at Chandana intersection in the city at about 10.00am.
Later, locals put out the blaze.
Another group of Shibir activists vandalised several vehicles throwing brick bats in the city’s Laxmipura area.
In Sylhet, Shibir men vandalised 10 vehicles including a pickup van and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw while picketing in the city’s Pathatula area.
In Bogra, Jamaat-Shibir activists blasted nine crude bombs while they were picketing in Sabgram, Kamargari and Gohail areas of the district town.
In Natore, Jamaat-Shibir activists blocked the Natore-Dhaka Highway by torching tyres and placing logs in Harishpur area of the district town in the morning.
They also staged demonstration and held a rally in the area.
There were no activities of the left-leaning organisaitons there in support of the hartal.
There was no report of any major violent incident from anywhere of the country.
Jamaat enforced the dawn-to-dusk shutdown protesting what it said the government-sponsored killing, terrorism, mass arrest and mass repression as well as demanding immediate release of its former ameer Ghulam Azam.
The left-leaning 11 student organisations, including Students’ Union, Students’ Federation, Bangladesh Chhatra Moitri, Chhatra Oikya Forum, Chhatra Samity, Biplobi Chhatra Moitri and Jasad Chhatra League called the strike in protest against the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 verdict sentencing the former Jamaat ameer to 90 years in jail.
Later, Ganajagaran Mancha, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) also extended their support to the strike.
On Monday, the ICT-1 sentenced nonagenarian retired Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Ghulam Azam to 90 years to serve the jail term unto death for his crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Earlier, Jamaat-e-Islami observed a daylong shutdown on Monday that was marked by the killing of five people, vandalism, arrests, explosions of crude bombs and ransacking and torching of vehicles.
Source: UNBConnect