Jamaat to investigate what lies behind incident in Cumilla

The central executive council of Jamaat-e-Islami has discussed the clashes, crude bomb explosions and vandalism at the party’s Cumilla city office. The party will investigate whether the incident stemmed from internal factional rivalry or other causes.

The meeting began at the party’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, on Thursday evening and lasted around an hour and a half.

According to sources, the meeting discussed several issues, including the country’s recent political situation, a long march towards Khulna by the 11-party alliance scheduled for 31 October, and the upcoming local government elections. The incident in Cumilla received particular attention.

Prothom Alo spoke to four members of Jamaat’s central executive council about the matter. They said the incident was rare in the party’s political history. The party would investigate whether internal divisions or other factors lay behind it, they added.

The executive council members also said Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party had temporarily relieved its Cumilla city convener, Golam Mohammad Samdani, of his duties following allegations of involvement in the incident. Although the incident has been described as a clash between two factions of Jamaat, questions remain about how the AB Party leader became involved.

Jamaat’s central leadership will investigate this and identify anyone else who may have been involved, they said. These issues were also discussed at the executive council meeting.

Motiur Rahman Akand, a member of Jamaat’s central executive council, told Prothom Alo on Thursday night that the incident was not quite what it had been portrayed to be—a clash between two groups within the party.

He said the executive council had discussed investigating the underlying causes of the incident, identifying those behind it and determining how a leader of the AB Party had become involved.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, when crude bomb explosions and vandalism were reported on the grounds of Jamaat’s Cumilla city office amid a dispute over the formation of a committee. The personal car of Mahbubur Rahman, secretary of the Cumilla city Jamaat unit, was vandalised.

The following day, Thursday, the AB Party temporarily relieved its Cumilla city convener, Golam Mohammad Samdani, of his duties over alleged involvement in the incident. In a press release, the party said he would be issued a show-cause notice asking why he should not be expelled permanently.