Tabligh Jamaat’s factional clash creates gridlock on Airport road

This photo shows a section of the Tabligh Jamaat devotees takes position on the road from Tongi Station Road to Kamarpara, Gazipur, on Saturday. Photo: Masud Rana
This photo shows a section of the Tabligh Jamaat devotees takes position on the road from Tongi Station Road to Kamarpara, Gazipur, on Saturday. Photo: Masud Rana

The vehicular movement on the western side of the busy Airport Road remained halted from Airport Crossing to Abdullahpur since Saturday morning following a clash between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat, reports UNB.

Top leader of Tabligh Jamaat Maulana Saad Kandhalv's supporters and their rivals locked into a clash at Airport Intersection around 8:00am, said traffic inspector Asad of Abdullahpur zone.

Following it, a chase and counter chase took place between the two groups creating panic among the city dwellers as well as creating a heavy gridlock from Mahakhali intersection to Uttara.

For last couple of days, anti-Saad group have taken position on the Ijtema Maidan in Tongi, said the traffic inspector adding that the clash ensued on Saturday morning when the followers of Maulana Saad tried to enter the ground.

The conflict between the two factions continued from the last session of Biswa Ijtema, Tabligh Jamaat's annual event and the largest Muslim congregation after the hajj.

The groups locked into another clash over the conflict at Dhaka's Kakrail Mosque, the headquarters of the religious group's Bangladesh chapter, in April last.