Jamaat 48-hour shutdown on

Sporadic blasts and processions marked the beginning of the Jamaat-e-Islami's two-day nationwide shutdown on Sunday with capital Dhaka wrapped in a tight security blanket .

Heavy deployment of police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were noticed at Malibagh, Shantinagar, Rampura, Paltan, Motijheel, Kawran Bazar, Farmgate, Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Badda and other key points through city.

Inter-city buses were fewer in numbers but rickshaws and auto-rickshaws were seen plying streets. Long route buses from Gabtoli, Mohakhali, Sayedabad remained grounded.

Meanwhile, railway security has been tightened after Jamaat attacks on trains and tracks at a few places like Rajshahi , Noahkhali and Chittagong during the last few days.

‘Line guards’ in all risky and key rail points were strengthened with 15 man units (previously 12), Kamalapur Railway Station Master Sakhawat Hossain Khan told bdnews24.com.

All trains from the station had arrived and left on time, he said.

Shutdown supporters brought out a procession at Lakshmibazar in Old Dhaka area and attacked vehicles at around 6:30am, said Sutrapur Police Station Officer in-Charge Rafiqul Islam.

They were chased away, he said.

Strike supporters also attempted to block traffic on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Jatrabari's Rayerbag area with burning tyres but police chased them away, said Jatrabari Police Station Sub-Inspector Emranul Islam.

Police lobbed teargas shells and fired rubber bullets to bring situation under control, he said.

Pro-shutdown processions were also reported by bdnews24.com Correspondents in Azimpur, Suhrawardy Hospital, Mirpur-1 areas.

Meanwhilel, Ganajagaran Mancha of Shahbagh had called upon all to resist the Jamaat shutdown , blaming the Jamaat-Shibir of trying to instigate ‘communal riots’ in Bangladesh.

“We have to unify and make coordinated efforts to foil such nefarious attempts,” said Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarkar.

An anti-shutdown procession is expected to begin from Shahbagh at 10:00am Sunday morning, according to him. A rally is expected to be held in Bahadur Shah park at 3:00pm.

Jamaat-Shibir activists unleashed nationwide violence soon after their leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death on Thursday afternoon. Atleast 40 people have died in the violence until Saturday.

Four died in Bogra on Sunday at the start of the Jamaat's two-day shutdown when party supporters attacked four police stations, vandalised book fair stalls and try to set the railway station on fire.

BNP has also pitched in with a ationwide daylong shutdown for Tuesday condemning the violence casualties.