At least seven people were killed and 150 others injured in clashes across the country on Friday as activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir engaged in violence following the execution war crimes convict Abdul Quader Mollah, a top Jamaat leader, on Thursday night. Jamaat-Shibir men also went on a rampage in the capital after Jum’a prayer causing panic among city dwellers. A street vendor, Nayeem (18), of Bagmara in Khulna was killed when police opened fire on Shibir activists as they went berserk at Nirala intersection in the afternoon.
In Satkhira, local Awami League leader Azizur Rahman Aju (53) was hacked to death allegedly by Jamaat-Shbir activists who attacked his house in Kolaroa a little after midnight. Juba League activist Joy Miah (35) was stabbed to death after some Jamaat-Shibir men allegedly picked him up from his house at Saraskati village around 2am.
In Noakhali, a hawker named Khorshed Alam (55) was shot dead as opposition supporters clashed with members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Afaniabazar of Begumganj upazila in the early hours of Friday. A Shibir activist named Zobair (17) was killed and 10 others were injured at Sonapur village in Sonaimuri upazila as Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) men opened fire on them on Friday afternoon. BCL men also severed tendons of 2 Shibir activists there in the morning.
In Pirojpur, a BNP activist named Shukkur Ali (25) was killed and six people were injured as 18-Party activists clashed with police and AL men at Ghosherhat bazar of Zianagar upazila in the early hours of Friday.
In Jessore, a Shibir activist named Ashraful (16) was crushed under a falling tree as Jamaat-Shibir activists fell trees to a block road at Baldeghat in Bagharpara upazila.
In the capital, at least 13 people, including a child, received bullet injuries in separate clashes at Rampura, Fakirapool, and Motijheel. Police detained five people from these spots. Around 200 Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession near the Motijheel AGB Colony area after Jum’ah prayers. The activists set fire to four private cars and five motorcycles parked on the road and damaged roadside shops.
They also vandalised and torched City Corporation Ward-10 office and a garbage
management centre at Motijheel
Fire brigade sources said private vehicles were also torched in the city’s Fakirapool, Motijheel, Malibagh areas, while a bus was torched in Kamalapur.
Jamaat-Shibir men allegedly hurled two petrol bombs at the village home of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, a judge of the ICT-1, in Kabilpur village of Senbagh in Noakhali.
In Gazipur, 10 people including the station master of Joydevpur Railway Junction, Zia Uddin Sarder, was injured when Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked the station and exploded 4 crude bombs at around 8am. They also vandalised and set fire to the control room. Train communication on six rail routes were suspended as the control system was severely damaged by fire.
In Narayanganj, two policemen were injured as Jamaat-Shibir supporters attacked law enforcers at Panchabati area in Fatullah. Police said Jamaat men also clashed with police in the city at 11am and torched four vehicles and vandalised 20 more.
In Satkhira, Jamaat-Shibir men torched houses of several AL leaders and ruling party offices in Ashashuni, Sadar and Kaliganj upazilas. Jamaat-Shibir supporters ransacked and set fire to the houses of some AL supporters and people belonging to the Hindu community soon after the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah.
In Dinajpur, around 2,000 people, allegedly Jamaat-Shibir activists, attacked the house of Bhawani Sankar Agarwala, the president of the Dinajpur Bus Owner Association, at Bhushirbandar area on Thursday night. They also set fire to five buses, one SUV, one pick-up van and two motorcycles. Later, the activists attacked Agarwal’s business centre. Villagers alleged that pesticide and fertilizers worth around Tk. 14 lakh were looted.
In Bogra, alleged Jamaat-Shibir activists torched 60 vehicles, including 3 vehicles at an Akij Group warehouse in Telipukur. They also set fire to the office of the executive engineer of roads and highways at Charmatha area.
-With The Independent input
