Hefajat-e-Islam secretary general Junaid Babunagri on Tuesday made a confessional statement before a magistrate here disclosing that activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir tried to use the party’s May 5 Shapla Chattar rally for ousting the government.
Opposition parties, including Jamaat activists, joining the rally killed police, snatched arms and set ablaze buildings and cars, the Hefajat leader told the court of metropolitan magistrate Harun-or-Rashid while making his ‘confessional’ statement in a case filed for killing a policeman and carrying out arson attacks.
“They joined our rally and resorted to violence in a bid to oust the government,” he said.
Babunagri said: “The 18-party alliance provided us with all kinds of financial support for making our Dhaka siege programme on May 5 a success. The rally at Shapla Chattar went out of control of Hefajat after 6 pm on that day.”
“Those who vandalised offices and made arson attacks on CPB office were not our activists,” he claimed.
The Hefajat leader said Jamaat-Shibir men might be involved in the killing of sub-inspector Shahjahan at Motijheel on May 5.
Investigation officer of the case sub-inspector Sheikh Mofizur Rahman of Motijheel Police Station produced the Hefajat leader before the designated court at 1pm where Babunagri made the statement at the magistrate’s office room.
The magistrate recorded the statement following a prayer by the investigation officer.
A total of 25 cases were filed with Paltan and Motijheel Police Stations over the violence during May 5 programme of Hefajat. Babunagri was made accused in five of the cases.
Babunagri was placed on a nine-day police remand on May 7 in two cases, including police SI Shahjahan killing.
The remand over, the Hefajat leader was taken on another 22-day police remand in three cases on May 16.
Babunagri was arrested from Lalbagh Shahi Mosque in the capital on May 6, a day after the vandalism.
Source: UNBConnect