Celebrations of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and diplomatic relations with India in the present Indian premier Narendra Modi, were marred by protests against his visit to Bangladesh, leading to the death of at least 10 people on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday, five more people were killed in the bordering district of Brahmanbaria in a clash which, according to the Hefazat-e-Islam leaders’ claim, broke out when Jamiya Islami Madrassa came under attack a day after the country concluded its triangular celebrations, which also included the birth centenary of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Three people died on the spot in the Brahmanbaria town while two others died at the district general hospital, said Dr Abdullah Al Mamun of the hospital.
The five deaths in Chattogram and Brahmanbaria sparked a chain of protests by the Hafazat-e-Islam supporters and their sympathisers, and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Juba Dal, and Islami Chhatra Shibir in Dhaka and elsewhere, on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday, Hefazat-e-Islam central secretary general Nurul Islam in Dhaka on Saturday urged all to enforce their nationwide strike.
The Hefazat leaderships in a protest in Dhaka said that they would announce tougher programmes if anyone tried to foil their peaceful strike.
Hefazat’s organising secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi said that of the five, four were killed in Chattogram and another was killed in Brahmanbaria during Friday’s protests.
Modi was the last state-level invitee who joined the last day of the 10-day celebrations of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which began on March 17.
The celebration saw unprecedented restrictions on traffic movement in the capital, limiting people’s participation on Friday.
The heads of state or government from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives reached Dhaka on different dates to attend the celebration. The visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi sparked protests, mainly by Islamist and leftist parties and organisations that denounced Modi’s role in the Gujarat genocide in 2002 and for the continued oppression on the minorities in his country as well as aggression towards Bangladesh.
Following Friday’s deaths in police firing, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party would hold two-day countrywide demonstrations on Monday and Tuesday, protesting against the killing of people on Independence Day on March 26, said the party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference on Saturday.
In another press conference later in the day, Chhatra Adhikar Parishad’s central joint convenor Abu Hanif protested at the killing in police firing and expressed their solidarity with the Hafazat-called strike.
He also called upon the government to release all of the anti-Modi protesters, otherwise, there would be tougher programmes.
The Bangladesh Chhatra, Juba and Shramik Adhikar Parishad in their written statement read by its Chhatra Adhikar Parishad’s Dhaka University unit president Akhter Hossain said that at least eight persons were killed, 500 injured and 98 others arrested during the protests denouncing the visit of the Indian prime minister.
Whereabouts of three of their leaders — Shakiluzzaman, Nadim Hasan and Mina Al Amin — remained unknown since Friday when they were picked by plainclothes during their visit to the national mausoleum, party insiders said.
The Islami Andolon Bangladesh staged a demonstration on Saturday afternoon in support of the strike while the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh extended their moral support to Sunday’s strike.
Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were deployed in various districts to aid the local administrators while people were facing disruption in using social media platform Facebook as the government reportedly blocked the site in Bangladesh on Friday evening.
Border Guard Bangladesh director of operations Lieutenant Colonel Fayzur Rahman said a sufficient number of personnel had been deployed in different districts on orders from the home ministry after Friday night.
He, however, did not reveal the exact number of the BGB personnel and the names of the districts where they were deployed.
Bus owners in Dhaka on Saturday decided to continue running Dhaka city and inter-district services on Sunday.
On the same day, two buses were set on fire in the city — one of them at Jatrabari at 8:00pm Saturday, Jatrabari police officer in charge Mazharul Islam said.
On Friday, the clash broke out at the national mosque, Baitul Mukarram, as ruling party supporters aided by the police carried out an attack on the Anti-Modi protesters following the Jumma prayer.
Wearing helmets and facemasks, the ruling party supporters also opened fire in front of the riot police while they also carried out the attack on over a dozen photojournalists for taking pictures or making videos on Friday, a couple of hours after the Indian prime minister reached Dhaka.
As anti-Modi protestors were attacked in Dhaka, the students at Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Muinul Islam in Hathazari of Chattogram and Hefazat supporters in Brahmanbaria staged demonstrations, clashed with police and ruling party supporters, following which five were killed.
Chattogram correspondent said at least four people were killed and several others were injured in a clash between Hefazat supporters and the police in the Hathazari area of the port city on Friday.
The police said eight people, who sustained bullet injuries at the clash, were rushed to the hospital where duty doctors declared four people dead. They were Robiul Islam, 22, from Cumilla, Mohrajul Islam, 22, from Madaripur, Md Jamil, 20, from Hathazari, and Md Mizan, 23, from Mymensingh.
Hefazat-e-Islam Ameer Junaid Babunagari came to Chattogram Medical College Hospital at about 5:00pm to visit the injured and to mourn the deceased.
Bijoy Basak, the deputy commissioner of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police, said that the four bodies were handed over to their family members at about 8.50pm on Saturday and those were taken to their villages under police escort.
On Saturday, leaders and activists of Hefazat blocked the Chattogram-Khagrachhari road at Hathazari, in front of the madrassah, from the morning.
Transportation movement on the road was halted for 10 hours.
A group of Hefazat activists, led by Harun Ezhar, staged a demonstration in front of the Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue.
Md Anwar Hossain, deputy inspector general of Chattogram range, Chattogram superintendent SM Rashidul Hoque and other high officials hold several meetings with the Hefazat leaders at Hathazari police station.
Students at a Jatrabari madrassah also clashed at night allegedly after coming under attack while over 30 sustained bullet injuries.
Hafazat leaders, during a demonstration in Dhaka on Saturday, alleged that the police along with ruling party supporters carried out the attack on the anti-Modi protesters.
BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also alleged that the police and Chhatra League activists had led the attacks on the Islamists.
Sylhet correspondent reported that 14 activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student front of Jamaat-e-Islami, were injured in Sylhet on Saturday from a procession brought out to denounce the visit of the Indian PM.
The correspondent reported that at least 30 persons, including five cops, were injured in a clash between the law enforcers and the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, a student organisation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in Habiganj on Saturday noon.
Gazipur correspondent said three opposition leaders were arrested while they attempted to bring out a protest rally in the metropolitan city on Saturday.
About the allegation against leaders of AL and its associate front organisations, including Juba League, Sechchasebak League and Chhatra League, that they participated in attacks alongside the police, ruling Awami League joint-general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim told the media that the allegations against their people were totally baseless.
He said that anti-liberation forces were trying to make the situation unstable and the police were enough to control the small groups of protesters.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Matijheel division deputy commissioner Syed Nurul Islam said that they fired teargas shells to disperse the clashing groups — one protesting at Indian prime minister’s visit and the other welcoming him.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost in-charge inspector Bachchu Mia said that 70 people were injured in the clash and they all received treatment at the hospital’s emergency department.
The Hafazat leaders alleged that they were denied treatment at the hospital.
Brahmanbaria correspondent, quoting police officials and witnesses, reported that several hundred madrassah students staged a demonstration on the city’s main road, TA Road, burning tyres at about 2:30pm.
The protesters vandalised the rail station’s signal, station master’s room and the control room.
On Saturday, three cases were filed against 6,000 unnamed people with the police station.
The police said they have arrested 14 people in this connection.
During another protest in Dhaka, Bhashani Follower Council held a rally in front of the Press Club and to denounced the killing. Ramna police deputy commissioner Shazzadur Rahman said they have detained five agitators from the programme.
Amnesty International in a statement on Friday stated that Bangladesh’s authorities must respect the right to freedom of assembly and protect peaceful protestors after the police opened fire on protestors at a rally in Chattogram.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki in a statement protested against the killings.
The Crime Reporters Association, Bangladesh expressed their concern over the injuries their members Depon Dewan of Banglavision and Sheikh Jahangir of Banglanews sustained.
They also called on the law enforcement agencies to show restraint when discharging their duties.
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