Dhaka, Mar 25 (UNB) – Stray incidents marked the day-long hartal, enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami in Chittagong, Cox`s Bazar and the three hill districts on Monday protesting the death of an Islami Chhatra Shibir activist on Friday following a police raid at his residence.
In Chittagong city, Mohammad Musa, 40, the driver of a battery-powered auto-rickshaw, was seriously injured as pickets hurled a bomb at his auto-rickshaw at Rahattarpool in Bakolia Police Station in the morning.
He was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) which referred him to Dhaka as his condition deteriorated.
Earlier, the Jamaat-Shibir activists took out a procession from the city’s Baizid area and blasted several cocktails. They also set a CNG-run auto-rickshaw ablaze at about 7.45am.
Police detained a picket from the spot.
Another group of pickets vandalised a tempo (human hauler) while picketing in the city`s Chawkbazar in the morning after blasting some cocktails.
The hartal supporters exploded several crude combs and then tried to torch another tempo in the city`s Bahaddarhat but stick-wielding policemen drove them out of the area.
In Sitakunda upazila, three cops were injured in a clash with Jamaat-Shibir activists when police tried to arrest an activist at Rahmatnagar near Dhaka-Chittagong highway in the afternoon.
A chase and counter chase took place between them and police fired 25 rounds of bullets in the air to bring the situation under control.
The injured were identified as constables Jamal, Ibrahim and Noman.
Police arrested five Jamaat-Shibir activists from the spot.
In Satkania upazila, police arrested a Jamaat activist while picketing in the upazila headquarters in the morning.
No long route buses and trucks entered terminals in the port city or anyone left here for other district during the dawn-to-dusk shutdown.
However, most of the shops and educational institutions remained open.
Almost all modes of vehicles, excepting rickshaw and CNG-run three-wheeler, stayed off the city streets.
Huge law enforcers were seen patrolling the city streets to maintain law and order.
Report form Rangamati said all public and private institutions in the CHT district remained open while no intercity buses left the district.
Besides, water transport also kept suspended in the district during the shutdown.
In Bandarban, academic activities at all the schools, colleges and madrasas ran as usual.
Buses plied the district’s roads while coaches did not leave the terminal.
In Khagrachhari, hartal laid no impact on the public life.
In Cox’s Bazar, the shutdown could not affect normal day-to-day activities as the offices and educational institutions functioned without any hindrance.
Presence of local service buses was thin on the streets while the long route buses stayed off the roads.
In a statement on Saturday, ANM Shamsul Islam, MP, ameer of Jamaat Chittagong city unit, announced the shutdown at Parade Maidan before the namaj-e-janaza of the victim, Mainul Hasan Munna, a Shibir activist and also nephew of ex-MP of Jamaat-e-Islami Shahjahan Chowdhury.
Mainul Hasan Munna, 23, was injured as he fell from a building during a police raid on March 16 and died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) early Saturday.
Source: UNB Connect
