Highway blocked in Narayanganj to protest killing of Islami Jubo Andolan leader
Mujahidul Islam, also known as Bulbul (45), a local leader of Islami Jubo Andolan, was hacked to death in Narayanganj’s Bandar. He was attacked and killed in the Salehnagar area at around 10:00 pm yesterday, Thursday. Police have arrested one person in connection with the killing.
In protest against Mujahidul’s killing, leaders and activists of Islami Andolan blocked the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway and held demonstrations on Friday morning.
Traffic came to a standstill for about half an hour while the highway was blocked. Police later went to the scene and brought the situation under control. Police have arrested a man named Sheikh Sifat for his alleged involvement in the incident.
Mujahidul was the son of the late Raja Master of the Shahi Mosque Thakurbari area in Bandar. He was the law and human rights affairs secretary of the Bandar thana unit of Islami Jubo Andolan Bangladesh. He was also the complainant in a case filed over an attack during the anti-discrimination student movement.
According to the victim’s relatives and local sources, Mujahidul Islam had actively participated in the anti-discrimination student movement in August 2024. Following his involvement in the movement, his rickshaw garage was attacked and looted. His relatives said 18 rickshaws were stolen from the garage.
On 20 August, 2024, Mujahidul filed a case with Bandar police station against several people, including Sheikh Sifat, over the incident. Sifat was named as accused no. 6 in the case. The victim’s relatives alleged that Mujahidul had been pressured to withdraw the case ever since he filed it and had also received death threats.
At around 10:00 pm yesterday, several people surrounded Mujahidul after finding him alone in the Salehnagar area. At one point, they repeatedly hacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing and leaving him on the road. Local residents later rescued Bulbul and took him to Narayanganj General Hospital, where the physician on duty declared him dead.
News of Mujahidul’s killing sparked tension in Bandar. Local residents and activists of Islami Andolan took to the streets and demonstrated that night, setting tyres on fire.
At one point, protesters attacked, vandalised and set fire to the homes of Sheikh Sifat and his relatives, who were accused of involvement in the killing. Additional police were deployed in the area and surrounding neighbourhoods to bring the situation under control.
This morning, Islami Andolan leaders and activists, along with local residents, took positions on the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway and began demonstrating in protest against the killing. They set tyres on fire and blocked the highway, bringing traffic to a standstill and creating long queues of vehicles on both sides.
Police went to the scene and removed the protesters. Traffic resumed about half an hour later.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations) Tarek Al Mehedi told Prothom Alo that the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway had been blocked for about half an hour in protest against Mujahidul Islam’s killing. Police later went to the scene and brought the situation under control. Traffic is now moving normally on the highway, he said.
“Police have arrested Sheikh Sifat in connection with the incident. We are working to arrest others involved. An investigation is underway to determine the motive for the killing and identify the other people involved. Preparations are also underway to file a case over the incident,” he said.