Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir men attack policemen at several places in the country this month injuring at least 200 law enforcers. Even though police were the apparent target, 300 civilians were also injured. The attacks were carried out at a time when trials of a few Jamaat leaders accused of crimes against humanity were at the final stages. Photo: Star/focus Bangla
Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir are likely to intensify violent activities across the country in December as they think the international crimes tribunals would deliver verdicts against a few Jamaat leaders then, sources said.
According to sources, including intelligence agency personnel, Jamaat-Shibir men would disengage from their violent activities seen in the last couple of weeks and reengage more fiercely in December to hinder the war crimes trials.
Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have seized a huge amount of funds from different middle-eastern countries, which, the intelligence agencies believe was brought in to pay for the hindrance of the war crimes trials through destabilising law and order.
One source even claimed that the amount was around Tk 100 crore.
The intelligence agencies have been gathering information about Jamaat and pro-Jamaat student body Shibir’s next course of action. They were interrogating the arrested Jamaat-Shibir leaders and workers, sources said.
Sources in the intelligence and other law enforcement agencies said detained Jamaat-Shibir men told them that they had been attacking police and resorting to violence following instructions from their high-ups.
The intelligence agencies were trying to identify those “high-ups”, added the sources.
However, the government thinks that opposition parties, including the main opposition BNP, have been backing the Jamaat-Shibir violence. Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir yesterday claimed that they had proof in this regard.
Meanwhile, ruling Awami League and all of its associated bodies and like-minded organisations are planning countrywide elaborate programmes to counter the Jamaat-Shibir activities and press home their demand for quick trials of war-crime suspects.
Ruling party insiders said they would take to the streets and stay there until the trials were over.
“We think that Jamaat-Shibir will try to put their last bite when the verdict of war crimes trial will be announced. So, we, along with all other pro-liberation organisations which are in favour of the war crimes trial will remain on the street to help the government and the administration under any circumstances,” Jubo League Chairman Omar Faroque Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
A dawn-to-dusk hartal was called by Jamaat in Khulna yesterday. The day was marred with ransacking of vehicles and clash with police.
During the hartal in Khulna, Jamaat-Shibir activists vandalised two buses, a truck, two auto rickshaws and fought pitched battles with police, reports our Khulna correspondent.
Police rounded up 26 Jamaat-Shibir activists in the city’s Goalkhali area in connection with attack on law enforcers.
The hartal was called to protest the arrests of party Assistant Secretary General Golam Parwar and Jamaat-Shibir activists in Khulna.
The home minister yesterday said 2,000 people have so far been arrested across the country in connection with the recent attack on police and violence.
Police arrested eight activists of Jamaat-Shibir at Abhoynagar upazila of Jessore and four in Sylhet.
Sylhet police also recovered five bullets, five knives, a laptop and a scanner, and some Islami books, said police officials.
In Bagerhat, at least 12 people including eight minor students were injured as allegedly local workers of Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked a madrasa and ransacked it at Morelganj upazila yesterday morning, reports a correspondent.
In Cox’s Bazaar, police pressed charges against 145 Jamaat-Shibir men for attacking them.
In Bogra, police arrested seven Shibir activists from different parts of the district.
A Noakhali court yesterday granted a two-day remand for 20 Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists accused of attacking police on November 26 at Maizdi.
In Dinajpur, 64 Jamaat-Shibir men have been accused in a charge sheet filed before the speedy tribunal in connection with their involvement in attacking the law enforcers on November 5. At least 32 of them are on the run.
Source: The Daily Star