Stray incidents of violence marks hartal

The countrywide daylong hartal enforced by Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student body associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, was marked by stray incidents of vandalism and bomb blasts across the country on Wednesday.ICS called the shutdown on Monday demanding the release of its arrested leaders and activists, including central president Delwar Hossain, and tracing of its missing leaders.
According to the reports reaching at the UNB news-desk, pro-hartal pickets vandalized at least 90 vehicles, including rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws, and blasted over 35 crude bombs in different parts of the country during hartal hours.
In capital Dhaka, pro-hartal pickets exploded at least 15 crude bombs at Shahjadpur of North Badda, Rayerbagh of Jatrabari, and Kolabagan in the fist hours of hartal.
At 4:30am, prior to start of the hartal, pickets set fire to a covered van in front of Eden College in Azimpur.
Hartal supporters tried to set a Leguna (human hauler) on fire in Demra on the city’s outskirts at 6:15am.
At 6:05am, Jamaat activists brought out a brisk procession in support of the hartal at Mirpur 1.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said they arrested 11 pickets during hartal hours, among whom six were give six month imprisonment each on the spot.
Vehicular movement on the city streets was almost normal. However, Educational institutions remained closed.
Law enforcers took position at strategic points of the city to fend off any untoward incident during the hartal hours.
In different districts, pickets vandalized over 85 different modes of vehicles and exploded at least 20 crude bombs. About 35 people were injured in clashes between hartal supporters and law enforcers.
In Sirajganj, pickets vandalized at least 50 vehicles at different places in the district during the hartal hours.
At least 20 people were injured in clashes between hartal supporters and the law enforcers in different areas of the district.
In Sylhet, Shibir men vandalised 20 rickshaws and 10 CNG-run auto-rickshaws in different areas of the city in the morning.
Incidents of violence during the shutdown were also reported from Chittagong, Comilla, Satkhira, Natore, Chapainawabganj and Joypurhat districts. – UNB

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