Four killed at Ijtema ground, no killers to be spared: Adviser

Home affairs adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has expressed a firm stance on bringing those involved in the killings at the Ijtema ground to trial, saying that four people died in the incident.

“There is no scope to spare the individuals involved in the murders. The perpetrators will be brought under the law following a case,” he said after holding separate meetings with two factions of Tablighi Jamaat at the ministry on Wednesday.

According to police and hospital sources, three people were killed during clashes between two groups – supporters of Maulana Zubair and Maulana Saad Kandhalvi – over control of the Ijtema ground in Tongi.

NM Nasiruddin, deputy commissioner (Tongi division) of Gazipur metropolitan police, told Prothom Alo around 2:00 pm that they were confirmed about three deaths till the time.

However, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish secretary general Maulana Mamunul Haque claimed the death count to be four and insisted that the deaths were caused by an attack by Saad supporters rather than a clash. The home affairs adviser later corroborated the Hefajat leader's account.

Amid escalating tensions between the two sides, the adviser convened separate meetings with both Tablighi Jamaat factions at the home ministry. While disclosing the meeting outcomes, he expressed a firm stance on taking legal action against the perpetrators.

When asked if Saad supporters will be allowed to participate in the upcoming Ijtema, the adviser said that if the two factions can settle their issues through discussions, Saad supporters will be permitted to join the congregation.

He also noted that the government has not yet canceled the Ijtema date.