Jamaat’s relaxed hartal passes off peacefully

The daylong countrywide hartal, called by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, passed off on Monday without any major incidents of violence across the country as it evoked a very poor response.According to reports reaching Dhaka, pro-hartal pickets damaged at least 15 vehicles and blasted nearly 25 crude bombs in different parts of the country, including the capital city.
Pro-hartal activists were seen in less numbers on the streets in support of the hartal.
Jamaat acting Ameer Makbul Ahmed announced the shutdown programme through a press release on Sunday protesting the punishment of its three leaders by the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) for contempt of court.
However Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal cities were kept out of purview of the shutdown in view of the city corporation elections slated for June 15.
In the capital, at least six crude bombs were exploded by activists of Jamaat-Shibir in Jatrabari, Rayerbagh and Azimpur in the morning.
Hartal supporters brought out processions in different areas of the city, including Bakshibazar, Azimpur and Jatrabari, but law enforces dispersed them in all places.
Police detained five people from Imamganj in Old Dhaka city at about 6.45 am when Shibir activists were preparing to bring out a procession in the area.
Vehicular movement was relatively more than other hartal days in the city and rickshaws dominated the streets of the capital as usual.
A significant number of law enforcers, including members of the elite force Rab, were deployed in the city to fend off any untoward incident and ensure security during the hartal hours.
Apart from the ones in uniforms, plainclothes police were also there on alert with video and still cameras at different strategic points of the city to identify troublemakers during the shutdown.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police detained a total of 10 people from different areas of the capital during hartal hours. Of the detainees, four were sentenced to different terms imprisonment.
At least 12 people were injured as incidents of violence were also reported from Bogra, Joypurhat, Narayanganj, Comilla, Laxmipur, Sirajganj, Natore and Gazipur districts.
On Sunday, the ICT-2 punished the three Jamaat leader — Hamidur Rahman Azad, MP, acting secretary general of the party Rafiqul Islam Khan and assistant secretary general of Dhaka city unit Selim Uddin — for contempt of court.
Hours after the tribunal meted out the punishment, the Islamist party announced the shutdown programme. (Source: UNB)

Leave a Reply