Jamaat, Shibir clash with police in Motijheel

At least 15 policemen were injured when activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front, Islami Chhatra Shibir, attacked the law enforcers in Dhaka’s Motijheel commercial area on Monday.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 27 Jan 2013, 10:54 PM
Updated : 28 Jan 2013, 07:19 AM

”The Jamaat-Shibir activists set fire to two vehicles and smashed over 100 vehicles,” Police’s Motijheel zone Additional commissioner Mehedi Hasan told bdnews24.com.

He said two vehicles were set ablaze in front of the Department of Public Health Engineering.

Hasan said the Motijheel, Paltan and Shahjahan police have detained at least 50 persons after the clashes.

Motijheel police SI Moktar Hossain had earlier told bdnews24.com the clashes erupted around 10am on Monday when Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession and tried to attack the police station.

Witnesses said the Jamaat-Shibir activists gathered at the Shapla Chattar and moved towards the Balaka Chattar attacking vehicles on the way. They torched a police van and two other vehicles.

The gathering dispersed when police intervened, they said.

The agitators regrouped minutes later and went berserk near the Stadium and the Zero Point. They smashed several vehicles there and exploded several handmade bombs.

Several top leaders of Jamaat are currently standing trial at the two international crimes tribunal on several war crime charges.

The Jamaat and its student front had been seen protesting against the trials since November last year demanding the release of their leaders.

They have regularly attacked policemen across Bangladesh. In one case, they reportedly set a policeman on fire and attacked the motorcade of Law Minister Shafique Ahmed in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area.

Fire service control room official Nilufar Yasmin said firefighters were trying to douse the flames .

The ADC said that the situation was brought under control around 11:30am.

He said a large police posse has been deployed in sensitive areas to control recurrence of violence.

Traffic in the busy commercial area had come to a halt due to the sudden clashes resulting in huge snarls in the surrounding areas. bdnews24.com’s Kamal Hossain Talukder at the spot said traffic has now become normal around noon.