Politics at play

The head of the committee, probing the January 16 Narayanganj mayhem, yesterday said politics is at play, otherwise there would have been criminal cases filed against the perpetrators.  

“...After the incident, none of the parties [involved] filed any case yet. There should have been criminal cases filed over the way arms were brandished and clashes broke out [between the two groups]. There has been politics in this as well...,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Jasim Uddin Haider, the head of the probe committee, told The Daily Star.

ADC Jasim heads the three-member committee that was formed a day after supporters of two of the city's rivalling political figures -- Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and local Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman -- locked horns in Chashara area over eviction of hawkers from sidewalks in the city. 

It has been seven days since the city saw one of the fearsome clashes in years, but neither a single case was filed, nor any of the gun-toting offenders was traced by the law enforcers.    

The violent clashes left at least 50 people injured including the city's mayor, Ivy.

With the 7-day deadline for submitting its report ending tomorrow (Wednesday), ADC Jasim, the probe committee chief, told this correspondent that the time given to the committee is insufficient.

“Seven days are not enough. We will appeal for seven more days to facilitate the investigation," he said.

“We've started investigating already. We've got to look into how the incident unfolded, who were involved and who brandished the firearms. Moreover, the reasons behind the incident also need to be unearthed -- though this might be very difficult. Accounts of a lot of people [about the incident] need to be collected. [And] that's why we need additional time,” he said.

“Whether pent-up political resentment between the two families [of Ivy and Osman] contributed to the incident would also be looked into,” Jasim added.

Meanwhile, journalist leaders of the city yesterday afternoon submitted a memorandum to Narayanganj Police Superintendent Moinul Haque, demanding arrest of the ones who brandished firearms and participated in attacks on journalists on January 16.

Assuring the journalists of taking necessary steps, SP Moinul said, “Regardless of who they are, action will be taken against the armed men. There will also be action even if licensed firearms were used for illegal purposes.”

However, he said police are yet to track down Niazul, a supporter of Osman, whose gun-toting photos taken during the clashes surfaced in the media.

Police in the meantime have been patrolling Bangabandhu Road in Chashara area in a bid to keep its sidewalks free from hawkers.

In a statement issued yesterday, Maksudul Alam Khondokar, a councillor of Naraynganj city and also the convenor of city unit Jubo Dal, rebutted allegation that he was involved in the clashes.

He said he only accompanied the mayor in a procession as a councillor of Chashara and he went home before violence broke out.