Tension and uneasiness intensified in the city and some district towns as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party men, law enforcers and Awami League men scuffled with each other.
Some of the miscreants, who could not be identified, torched vehicles in the city, witnesses said.
In Paltan, the miscreants torched a bus and a motorbike of traffic sergeant around 12:15pm, they said. Police also picked up 16 people from the spot.
In Baridhara, unidentified people torched a car around 11:30am, according to fire service headquarters officials.
Meanwhile, the pro-BNP and Jamaat lawyers assaulted a policeman, injuring him in front of High Court premises in the capital. Witnesses said the lawyers brought out a procession on the High Court premises at around 12:30pm. They came out with the procession and police intercepted them while they reached Majar (shrine) Gate area.
An altercation and scuffle took place there leaving a lawyer, Jatin Sarker, injured, the lawyers claimed. The police constable, Mostafizur Rahman, came under attack when the lawyers were returning to the High Court. He was taken to Police Lines Hospital.
However, police also picked up six people on suspicion of being ‘BNP men’ in front of Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters at Segunbagicha, our correspondent reported.
A BNP activist was arrested in front of the party’s Naya Paltan office around 12:00pm. Police claimed that the activist was carrying crude bombs.
Wari police detained four men along with four petrol bombs. BNP, Jamaat activists demonstrated in Sylhet defying ban, 48 arrested Our Sylhet correspondent reported that leaders and activists of Swechchhasebak Dal, a front organisation of BNP, and Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, staged demonstrations and vandalised vehicles in Sylhet city on Monday morning in defiance of a ban on rallies.
Police detained 48 people of BNP and Jamaat and their front organisations from different places in the district until Monday noon, the Sylhet metropolitan and district police said. A group of Swechchhasebak Dal led by the organisation central vice-president Shamsuzzaman Zaman brought out a flash procession at Bandar Bazar around 10:00am that ended at Mahajan Patti, the organisation sources said.
At the same time, the Shibir activists brought out a procession at Kazitola Bazar and vandalised an auto-rickshaw and three battery-run rickshaws. The procession ended at Shahi Eidgah Ucha Sarak. Besides, 4 Shibir activists on two motorcycles appeared at Uttor Kazitula in the city and vandalised a Laguna human hauler and then fled, eyewitnesses said.
Meanwhile, the leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League gathered in front of a market at Court Point in the city around 11:00pm to held a scheduled rally there. But, the city AL president Badar Uddin Ahmad Kamran said that they will not hold any rally complying with metropolitan police order. Kamran told the party leaders and activists to go back homes. He said he would ask them to come out to the street, if BNP holds any rally in the city, the party leaders said.
Sylhet Metropolitan Police arrested 18 activists of BNP and Jamaat from the city and the district police arrested 30 others from different upazila headquarters until this noon on various charges, including arson and vandalism, police said. The Bus Owners’ Association leaders suspended operations of buses on all long routes from Sunday 3:00pm fearing vandalism and arson attack, the bus owners said.
Triangular clash in Kharachari leaves 15 wounded At least 15 people including some journalists were injured in a triangular clash between the supporters of Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the police men on Monday at Sapla chattar, Bhanga bridge and penguin intersection in Khagrachari. The Deputy Commissioner of the district, Wahiduzzaman, said the police fired several rounds of short gun and rubber bullets to contain and control the situation.
Three platoon Bangladesh Border Guard men were deployed at locations in the city to avoid any further deterioration in law and order situation. Officer-in-charge of Khagrachari police station, Md. Mijanur Rahman, said local Awami League organised a demonstration this morning at Sapla Chattar marking its founding anniversary.
Meanwhile, another procession led by BNP activists tried pass through the square triggering clashes, prompting law enforcers to get involved, the OC said. During the clash supporters of both the parties vandalised some vehicles, the OC added.
Source: New Age
