Thousands, ignoring lockdown, attend funeral prayers for Islamic leader in Brahmanbaria

Tens of thousands of people attending the funeral prayer of Khelafat Majlish leader Moulana Zubair Ahmad Ansari in Brahmanbaria, defying the ban on mass gatherings during the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The prayer service for the Islamic leader took place at Jamia Rahmania Bertala Madrasa premises in Sarail at 10 am on Saturday.

The rows of mourners stretched from the madrasa premises, all the way down to Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, raising concerns about the risks of contagion particularly in light of the recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths throughout the country.

Police were present but they remained on the sidelines.

Addressing the matter, Sarail Police OC Md Shahadat Hossain said many people from as far as Dhaka came to join the funeral prayer.

“We never thought there would be this many people. There was nothing we could do once the crowd began streaming in.”

Experts around the world have stressed the need to practise social distancing, urging people to keep a gap of at least three feet from others in order to limit the risk of infection.

Bangladesh has also imposed a lockdown, banning large gatherings and asking citizens to remain indoors as much as possible to maintain social distancing.

Brahmanbaria was already under lockdown at the time of Ansari's death.

Local administrators were at a loss to explain the massive turnout when the government has already imposed curbs on congregational prayers at mosques.

Top Islamic leaders in the district, madrasa students and ordinary people attended the funeral overseen by Ansari’s son Hafiz Moulana Asadullah.

Ansari passed away at his residence in Brahmanbaria's Markas Para at the age of 59. The Islamic scholar had contested the 1996 election from his home constituency and lost.

The organisers of the funeral did not take permission from the local administration before staging the event, according to Sarail Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abu Saleh Md Musa.

"We contacted the police when we were informed about it but they couldn't do anything by then,” he said.

“They didn’t take permission from us before holding the funeral. We have a lockdown in effect right now with the government urging people to stay indoors. We informed them about it yesterday, to which they said would scale back the event. We now have to investigate the matter,” the district's Deputy Commissioner Hayat-Ud-Doula Khan told reporters.