Jamaat men clash with BCL men, cops in Ctg, Rajshahi
Activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir on Wednesday clashed with ruling Awami League men and police in Chittagong and Rajshahi over holding ghaibana janaza for executed Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami.
In Chittagong, a clash took place between Jamaat-Shibir activists and AL’s student wing BCL men at the parade ground of Chittagong Government College where Jamaat was scheduled to hold ghaibana janaza around 1:30 pm.
Police said Jamaat-Shibir men held a ghaibana janaza on the road adjacent to the parade ground. City Jamaat general secretary Nazrul Islam conducted the janaza.
A chase and counter-chase took place between the Jamaat-Shibir men and some Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists when they entered the parade ground for holding another janaza.
Later, police lobbed teargas shells to bring the situation under control. However, the Jamaat men held another janaza at the parade ground.
Chittagong metropolitan police Kotwali zone assistant commissioner Kazi Abdur Rahim said the situation was brought under control within a short time.
In Rajshahi, leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Shibir clashed with police over holding a ghaibana janaza for executed Jamaat chief at Hetamkha area in the city.
Rajshahi metropolitan police Rajpara zone assistant commissioner Iftekhar Alam said when some Jamaat-Shibir men assembled at Hetamkha area to hold janaza police obstructed them, triggering a clash around 2:00pm.
As the Jamaat-Shibir activists pelted brick bats towards policemen they dispersed them by firing rubber bullets, he said.
Four Jamaat-Shibir men were arrested from the spot.
Jamaat, however, alleged that ruling AL activists charged crude bombs near Chittagong parade ground and launched attacks on the people joining the janaza in a bid to foil the namaj-e-janaza.
In a statement, the party also criticised the police for trying to foil the namaj-e-janaza at different places across the country including in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj.
The party demanded release of its activists who were arrested when they were joining the Nizami’s janaza.
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