50 hurt, 17 with bullets; daylong hartal in Manikganj for Monday protesting the killings
Three
people were killed and 50 injured when police, attacked by marauding
pickets, opened fire in Singair upazila of Manikganj during the
countrywide daylong hartal on Sunday.
Of the deceased, 5
died in Manikganj while another succumbed to his injuries after being
taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Locals however
claimed that a woman named Helena, who sustained injuries during the
clash, succumbed to her injuries on way to a hospital in Dhaka.
But, police did not confirm the death, reports our Manikganj correspondent.
Meanwhile,
Khelafat Majlish, one of the eight so-called Islamist parties who
enforced the countrywide daylong shutdown, called a daylong hartal in
Manikganj district for Monday to protest the deaths of its 'activists'.
Moulana Mohammad Salahuddin, general secretary of the party's district unit, confirmed the hartal news to the correspondent.
The deceased were identified as Nasiruddin, 30, Shah Alam, 25, and Alamgir, 22, of Gobindol area in the upazila.
Several
police men, including Md Liakat Ali, officer-in-charge of Singair
Police Station, were also injured during the clash. Liakat was
undergoing treatment at the Singair Upazila Health Complex.
Earlier, Khelafat Majlish claimed that the deceased were their party activists.
But villagers refuted the party claim identifying the deceased as locals.
The
clash erupted around 9:00am when pro-hartal activists attacked a
procession of Awami League led by district unit General Secretary Abdul
Majed Khan at Kashimnagar in the upazila.
Around 10 AL leaders and activists were injured during the clash.
Later in retaliation, AL activists vandalised the BNP office in the upazila.
As the news of office vandalism spread, pickets put barricades on a road in Gobindol area by placing logs.
Witnesses
said the stick and machete-wielding pro-hartal activists also brought
out a procession in the area protesting the vandalism.
As
police rushed to the spot and tried to disperse them, a chase and
counter-chase took place between police and the pro-hartal activists,
leading to the nearly three-hour long clash.
Police fired
around 200 gunshots and teargas shells during the chase and
counter-chase to bring the situation under control while the pro-hartal
activists retaliated with hurling brick chips.
The
processionists also attacked police with bamboo sticks, forcing the law
enforcers to open fire on the rowdy activists, leaving 50 people
injured.
During the clash, villagers also helped police to disperse the activists, witnesses said.