Fifth death reported at Biswa Ijtema in Tongi

Another attendee of the Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest congregations of Muslim devotees in Gazipur's Tongi, has died, bringing the total number of deaths at the gathering to five.

The deceased, Haji Abdul Gafur, 75, was a resident of the Char Fashion area in Bhola.

Habibullah Raihan, spokesperson for Bangladesh Tablighi Jamaat Shuraye Nizam, said Gafur fell ill before the Maghrib prayers on Saturday.

“He died while being transported to the hospital,” Habibullah added.

Earlier that day, around 2:45pm, Miz Ali, 60, of Tegaria in Habiganj Sadar Upazila's Ramnagar No. 3, suddenly became ill.

He was taken to Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital in Tongi, where doctors declared him dead.

The deaths of three others were reported on Friday evening, including Md Yakub Ali, 60, of Ragabpur in Habiganj; Abdul Quddus Gazi, 60, of Dumuria Bazar in Khulna; and Md Sabed Ali, 70, of Rani Shimul in Sherpur.

According to Habibullah, their funeral prayers were held at the Ijtema grounds before transporting the bodies to their respective hometowns.

Biswa Ijtema started on Friday, with the first phase scheduled to take place from Jan 31 to Feb 2 with the followers of senior cleric Zubair Ahmed of the Tablighi Jamaat participating.

The second phase for the Zubair faction will be held from Monday to Wednesday.

The second phase of the Biswa Ijtema will follow from Feb 14 to Feb 16, with the Indian preacher Saad Kandhlawi faction taking part.

Saad's followers will hand over the Ijtema premises to the administration after Maghrib on Feb 18.