Police
stand beside the road where pro-hartal activists bring out a procession
in Motihar area of Rajshahi during hartal hours on Thursday morning.
A
countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
is continuing amid arson and vandalism across the country on Thursday.Jamaat however curtailed the hartal in the capital and Chittagong where they observed a six-hour hartal till noon.
The incidents of picketing, arson and vandalism were reported from Bogra, Narayanganj, Sylhet, Dinajpur, Laxmipur, Natore, Bagerhat and Khulna.
Pickets torched a covered van, vandalised over 25 vehicles and blasted several cocktails different districts across the country. Police so far picked up 15 people on charge of picketing during the hartal.
BOGRA
Pro-hartal activists severely beat up two police constables with a rifle butt after snatching the firearm from them in Snigda Residential area of Upashahar in the town in the morning.
Quoting witness our Bogra correspondent reports, over 150 Shibir activists locked in a scuffle with six policemen around 7:00am when they picked up a pro-hartal activist along with an iron rod for picketing in the area.
At one stage, Shibir men snatched the rifle from a police constable and severely beat up the law enforcers leaving at least two police constables injured, they said.
The activists snatched the picket from police and also returned the rifle to the law enforcers, witnesses added.
The injured constables -- Ziaur Rahman and Shahin Alam -- are undergoing treatment Bogra Police Lines Hospital.
Mozammel Haque, superintendent of police of Bogra, said two police constables were slightly injured during a scuffle with the pro-hartal activists.
He, however, denied the incident that pickets beat up the constables after snatching the firearm from a constable.
NARAYANGANJ
Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession in Siddhirganj upazila of Narayanganj in the morning in support of their hartal and torched a covered van and blasted a cocktail there.
The incident of chase and counter-chase also took place between them and law enforcers as police tried to resist them on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sanarpar area of the upazila.
Police had to fire several blank shots to disperse the pro-hartal activists. They also detained two Jamaat-Shibir men from the spot.
Abdul Matin, officer-in-charge of Siddirganj Police Station, said police had doused the fire before the van gutted to ashes.
SYLHET
The Jamaat-Shibir men vandalised four trucks and two microbuses at Shibganj and in front of Madina market in the city and Dakshin Surma upazila around 7:30am, reports our Sylhet correspondent quoting Rezaul Karim, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police.
LAXMIPUR
Shibir men vandalised two vehicles at Temohoni in Laxmipur Sadar upazila in the morning.
Later, police chased the gang and locked into a clash with them. At least 10 Shibir men were injured during the clash, the party activists claimed.
NATORE
Police detained a pro-hartal activist while picketing at Kadamchilani of Lalpur upazila.
Jamaat-Shibir activists blocked Natore-Bogra highway by setting fire to tyres at Dighpatiya in the morning and also vandalised several vehicles.
BAGERHAT
Shibir activists vandalised a newspaper-carrying pickup van on Bagerhat-Khulna road near Megnitala area around 8:00am, reports our Bagerhat correspondent quoting Khandakar Rafikul Islam, superintendent of police of Bagerhat district.
Police detained two people conducting a drive in adjacent areas in connection with the vandalism, he added.
Meanwhile, the detainees -- Md Al-Amin, 15, a class eight student of Harikhali Purbapar Dakhil madrasa and Munayemul Islam, 15, a class nine student of Bagerhat Government Boys High School -- claimed that they were innocent and they had no involvement with politics.
KHULNA
Pro-hartal activists vandalised at least 12 vehicles including two buses in Khalishpur and Doulatpur areas in Khulna city till noon, reports our Khulna correspondent quoting police.
Police picked up some Jamaat-Shibir men while they were picketing at different points in the city, said Sukumar Biswas, officer-in-charge of Khalishpur Police Station.
Police also dispersed pro-hartal activists, who barricaded Khulna-Jessore railway at Khalishpur and Doulatpur points for one hour since 9:00am.
At least 10 Shibir men were picked up while they tried to bring out processions from different parts of the city, Jamaat City Ameer Abul Kalam Azad claimed.
JOYPURHAT
The Jamaat-Shibir men vandalised four human haulers at Puran Koil area in the town around 11:00am, reports our Dinajpur correspondent.
Later, police fired four teargas shells and two rubber bullets in the air to bring the situation under control.
BACKGROUND
Jamaat is enforcing a half-day hartal in Dhaka and Chittagong and dawn-to-dust shutdown elsewhere protesting the "police refusal" to hold a rally before the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital.
Police rejected the allegation and said it was just an excuse for creating further violence.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they had received a letter seeking permission for the rally, but police could not reach the person whose name and phone number were mentioned in the letter, reports ATN Bangla.
The war crimes trial has been a longstanding national issue. Ahead of the 2008 general elections, the Awami League pledged to try the war criminals if voted to power. The party won a landslide victory in the December 29 polls that year, and later the Jatiya Sangsad unanimously passed a proposal for the trial.
Among those facing the trial are some top leaders of Jamaat, which actively tried to foil Bangladesh's birth through helping the Pakistani occupation forces in committing mass killing, genocide, rape and other crimes against humanity. The party now looks determined to stop the trial by any means.
Seven top leaders of Jamaat, including its current and former ameers and secretary general, are behind bars on war crimes charges.
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