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Published : 20 Sep 2024, 05:26 PM
Two groups, one supporting the former khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and the other the current khatib, have clashed before the Jummah prayers on Friday.
Several Muslim devotees were injured in the clash, witnesses say.
“There was an issue between the old and new khatibs,” said Md Shahriar Ali, deputy commissioner of police from the Motijheel Division. “Later we heard that the old khatib was not able to deliver the prayer service and the new khatib held the Jummah prayers.”
Former khatib Moulana Mufti Ruhul Amin ‘went into hiding’ after the change of government in the wake of a mass uprising. Hafez Moulana Mufti Waliur Rahman Khan was then appointed as the new khatib.
Jahed Ali, who came to the mosque to pray, said:
“The situation developed when the old khatib Ruhul Amin, who had not come to the mosque since Aug 5, returned.
“Current Khatib Mufti Khan was delivering the regular sermon when the old khatib came in with his supporters and grabbed the current khatib’s microphone. This sparked the conflict.”
A scuffle broke out between the supporters of the two sides, leading to unrest, a police official said.
“One side took out shoes from a shoebox and began throwing them,” he said.
The police official said he was stationed outside the mosque at the time.
“We did not allow any trouble outside. A group came and tried to create unrest, but we did not let them take up positions outside.”
Three people were detained during the incident, he said.
The situation around the mosque is ‘now normal’, said Molla Md Khalid Hossain, chief of Paltan Police Station.
Police are on alert in the area, he said.
WHAT HAPPENED
Witnesses said that followers of the current khatib became irate when the former khatib grabbed the microphone.
This led to a scuffle between both sides and some people were injured.
Many devotees left the mosque after seeing the two groups clashing and they took positions up both ends of the ground floor where people offered their prayers.
The groups started throwing things at each other.
The law enforcers came to the scene and eventually brought the situation under control. The general devotees came back to the mosque around 1:15pm.
The army came to the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque once the incident was reported and the situation calmed down.
Some videos have spread on social media showing the two groups inside the mosque fighting each other. They were seen throwing shoes and plastic items. Windows and doors were vandalised as well.
Police had personnel on duty at the Baitul Mukarram premises. APC cars, water cannons and prison vans were deployed as well.
