The 10-hour long countrywide hartal enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami was observed amid stray incidents of violence but mostly ignored by public transport owners and shopkeepers.A large number of shops were seen open and movement of significant numbers of motor vehicles including private cars were larger than the two days dayls of hartal.
On request of Hindu community, Jamaat reduced the hartal period by two hours because of their Ratha Jatra festival in the afternoon.
More people were found on the streets for the Eid shopping during the Ramzan as shops started to open from the morning ignoring the hartal.
However long distance buses from Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad bus terminals didn’t operate during hartal. Movement of trains and launches were as usual.
Large numbers of rickshaws and auto-rickshaws were also seen plying on the streets.
The picketers tried to stop the flow of traffic in the morning by lighting fires spearing patrols and throwing stones at passing vehicles at Mirpur, Jatrabair, Khilgaon, Sabujbagh and Dolairpar in the city.
Jamaat activists also brought out processions and took part in picketing at Kamrangirchar, Lalbagh, Chakbazar, Shajahanpur, Kafrul, Bhasantek, Pallabi, Hazaribagh, Dakkhin Khan, Uttara areas in favour of hartal.
In a statement acting secretary general of Jamaat Rafiqul Islam Khan felicitated the countrymen for making the hartal a success.
The daylong nationwide hartal, the fourth in a row, called by Jamaat-e-Islami, began at 6am in protest against the ICT-2 verdict against its secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid.
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Wednesday handed down capital punishment to Mojahid for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
The government had taken strong security measure to avoid untoward incidents during the hartal.
Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession at Dhalpur area near Jatrabari at 8:45am.
They exploded a number of cocktails and vandalised a running bus before setting fire to it.
At 6:00am Ramna thana Jamaat brought out a procession at Wireless Gate area and observed rail line blockade. Habibur Rahman led the programme.
They also brought out procession at Maghbazar intersection, Wirelessgate and Madhubagh areas.
In Rajshahi, Jamaat activists clashed with police and at least 10 people injured in the engagement.
Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the Jamaat activists who retaliated by hurling home made bombs at police.
In Chittagong, the picketers exploded home mad bombs in Baklia thana area, vandalised a tempo and set fire on it.
Though the Jamaat activists blasted cocktails and vandalied vehicles at the beginning of the hartal hours on Thursday, for the fourth consecutive day, the people in the port city mistly ignored the hartal on the last day and came down to the street in great numbers.
In Barisal, Jamaat activists staged demonstrations in different parts of the city.
The hartal was observed amid stray incidents of blasting cocktails, blocking roads, brick bating on vehicles and picketing.
Witnesses said picketers of Jamat tried to block roads, blasted cocktails in BM School and Nathullabad areas at about 5:00am.
Pro-hartal picketers throwing brick bats damaged two vehicles including a truck and a battery operated auto-rickshaws in different parts of the city.
Two pickets were arrested in this connection.
In Narayanganj, Shibir activists brought out a sudden procession. They set fire on a covered van and vandalised a number of vehicles at Kashipur under Fatullah upazila.
