Jamaat-e-Islami Hartal progressing amid stray incidents,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

The second day of the two-day hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami is progressing amid some stray incidents across the country on Monday.

The incidents of detain, arson and picketing were reported from the capital, Barisal and Jhenidah districts.

In Dhaka, police picked up five people suspecting them as Jamaat-Shibir activists when they brought out a brisk procession at Banasri around 7:30am, said Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Khilgaon Police Station.

Police detained two more pickets for their attempt to vandalise a pick-up van at Shyambazar in Old Dhaka around 7:45am, said Rafiqul Islam, OC of Sutrapur Police Station.

Besides, a passenger was injured as he jumped off a BRTC bus when hartal supporters tried to vandalise the vehicle at Dhalpur around 6:45am.

Our Barisal correspondent reports, at least three people were injured when pro-hartal activists clashed with police in the city.

The hartal supporters torched two motorcycles of the BCL activists after they joined police during the clash.

Witnesses said the pro-hartal activists brought out a procession from Bagia Madrasa, on the outskirts of the city, around 7:00am.

Being resistance by police at the entrance of the city, they threw brick chips targeting the law enforcers, prompting the team to lob at least three teargas shells.

Police also used two sound grenades to disperse the activists.

In Jhenidah, at least 1,500 Jamaat-Shibir men damaged railway tracks at Rajapur level crossing in Kotchandpur upazila around 3:00am, halting train movement on Khulna-Ishwardi route for an hour.

On information, members of police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh rushed to the spot and dispersed the activists.

Jamaat called the 48-hour hartal to protest against the death penalty for its Nayeb-e-Ameer Delawar Hossain Sayedee for his wartime offences.

Since a tribunal awarded death penalty to Sayedee on Thursday, a total of 63 persons were killed across the country until Sunday.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also declared a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Tuesday protesting what she termed as 'genocide' the deaths in Thursday's fierce clashes between law enforcers and rioting Jamaat-Shibir men.