Hit-and-run violence grips city

13 hurt as Jamaat-Shibir men open fire, clash with cops

 

Jamaat-Shibir men vandalise a police van and a BRTC bus at Karwan Bazar in the capital after police foiled their attempts to bring out processions in the area Tuesday afternoon. 

At least 13 people were injured on Tuesday when Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) activists opened fire and clashed with the law enforcers in different parts of the capital.
The clashes, which began around 1:00 pm, continued for a few hours in Karwan Bazar, Panthapath, Green Road, Motijheel and Arambagh areas.

Police arrested 73 Jamaat-Shibir activists for their alleged involvement in the clashes, according to Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile, the clashes took place around couple of hours before Jamaat-e-Islami was scheduled to hold a protest rally at the city’s Paltan in the afternoon as part of its countrywide demonstration to protest what it termed the 'government-sponsored' rally at Shahbagh intersection.
But Jamaat-Shibir did not get permission for it, according to Jamaat sources.
Meanwhile, at least 24 people were injured in Bhola and Magura as Jamaat men clashed with police and Bangladesh Chhatra League men.
Panic gripped Dhaka city dwellers as the marauding Jamaat-Shibir men suddenly attacked police in the capital's Karwan Bazar at around 1:00 pm.
The Jamaat-Shibir men, some brandishing guns, also vandalised at least 20 vehicles on Panthapath.
Two people sustained bullet injuries during the clash.
Matiur Rahman, the editor of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, sustained minor injuries when his car came under attack during the clash at Karwan Bazar.
The newspaper said the editor received the injuries in his hand when a windshield of his vehicle was broken.
Matiur Rahman and Prof Anisuzzaman just got on board the vehicles when the incident took place.
PANTHAPATH
The clash erupted when nearly 200 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir suddenly attacked police near Karwan Bazar mosque.
After the police action, the Jamaat-Shibir men hurled handmade bombs on a team of patrol police and Rab.
They also vandalised four motorcycles parked in front of Bangla daily Prothom Alo office.
The Jamaat-Shibir men then rushed towards Panthapath and Green Road areas opening blank shots.
After series of hit-and-run attacks on innocent motorists and other road users, a gang a dozen rowdy youths, armed with machete, brickchips and batons, suddenly emerged from an alleyway next to Shamarita Hospital in the city’s busy Panthapath at exactly 2:47pm, our correspondent witnessing the incident reports.
Three on-duty police vehicles with about a dozen armed policemen, rushed to face the sudden attack on commuters from the intersection of Panthapath and Green road.
Within seconds, the entire road was devoid of vehicles and pedestrians while people from rooftops and balconies looked on.
As the policemen jumped off their vehicles to chase the weird gang, several gunshots were heard. It was not clear where the gunshots were coming from, a witness said.
The sudden mayhem ended as it had started with the perpetrators vanishing into the alleyways of the densely populated Rajabazar area.
MOTIJHEEL
In Motijheel, about 300 to 400 Jamaat-Shibir men suddenly brought out a procession in front of Notre Dame College around 1:30pm and blocked the road by setting fire to garment waste.
Later, patrol police from Shapla Chattar and Arambagh areas chased the Jamaat-Shibir activists, triggered a chase and counter-chase between the two groups.
The Jamaat-Shibir men fled the scene, after facing police resistance.
Within few minutes, another group of 20 to 25 people set fire to a microbus of daily Naya Diganta on the newspaper office premises.
Later, newspaper staff doused the fire.
Abdur Razzak, a staff of the newspaper, said the group also pelted brick chips on their office and left the place within a few minute.
He claimed that the attackers were local Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists.
Meanwhile, police fired around 30 rounds from shotgun on a group of 200 to 300 Jamaat-Shibir men when they attempted to vandalise vehicles in front of City Centre in Motijheel around 1:30pm.
Mehedi Hasan, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Motijheel zone), said they picked up 30 Jamaat-Shibir men from the spot while others fled the scene.
In Bhola town, at least 10 people were injured in clashes between Jamaat men and cops.
The law enforcers detained three Shibir activists.
The clash erupted around 5:00pm when police intercepted a procession brought out by the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir in the town's Circular Road.
Police fired at least nine rounds of bullets and 18 rounds of tear shells to bring the situation under control.
In Magura town, at least 14 people were injured in a clash between the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Barunatail village in Magura municipality area at around 5:20pm.
In Manikganj town, activists of Jatiya Jubo Jote, a platform of youth bodies of the Awami League-led ruling 14-party combine, and Bangladesh Chhatra League vandalised an ATM booth of Islami Bank.
Masud Hakim, an official at the bank's Manikganj branch, told our district correspondent that the agitating activists carried out the vandalism at Shaheed Latif road around 4:00pm.