Cases Over Mayhem: Another Hefajat leader, 10 activists held

Eleven more Hefajat-e-Islam leaders and activists, including central leader Nur Hossain Noorani, were arrested yesterday in different cases.

Ten of the Hefajat men were held from Brahmanbaria in connection with last month's mayhem by the organisation in the district, police said.

Noorani, also president of Khatme Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh, was arrested by the Detective Branch of police in cases filed over attacking police personnel and setting fire to houses in Munshiganj's Sirajdikhan upazila during Hefajat's strike on March 28.

He was held from Munshirhat area of the district's Sadar upazila.

A seven-day remand was sought for him after the Hefajat central member was produced before a Munshiganj court yesterday. The court set April 26 for hearing the remand prayer and sent him to jail, said police.

"DB men arrested Noorani from his house. There are allegations against him that he instigated a chaotic situation during the strike called by Hefajat," Minhazul Islam, additional superintendent of police (Sadar circle), told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Hefajat yesterday claimed that its central leader Nazmul Hasan Kashemi was picked up by DB police from his Uttara home in the capital. However, DB has not yet said anything about this.

So far, at least 13 central and top leaders of the Qawmi madrasa-based organisation were arrested on different charges following the Hefajat's violence in different parts of the country in protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

At least 418 people, mostly supporters of Hefajat, have so far been held from different parts of the country for their alleged involvement in the recent violence. 

Over 160 cases have been filed since 2013 over violence involving Hefajat. The cases were against 1.30 lakh unnamed people.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday placed two Hefajat leaders on different periods of remand in two cases filed with Paltan Police Station over the 2013 mayhem and recent violence in Dhaka.

They are Khaled Saifullah Ayubi, joint secretary general of Hefajat, and Maulana Ihteshamul Haque Sakhi, joint office secretary of the organisation.

Police arrested the duo on April 22.

Saifullah was on a five-day remand in a case filed with Paltan Police Station over the violence on March 26 in the capital, while Ihteshamul was on a four-day remand in a case filed with the same police station over the 2013 mayhem in Dhaka.

Metropolitan Magistrate Nivana Khair Jesi passed the orders after two investigation officers sought a 10-day remand for each of them.

B'BARIA ARRESTEES

Police arrested 10 Hefajat men from different areas of the district after identifying the accused from CCTV footage and photos taken during the violence, said Roish Uddin, additional superintendent of Brahmanbaria police.

So far, 56 cases have been lodged over the mayhem in Brahmanbaria. Of them, 49 are filed with Brahmanbaria Sadar Model Police Station, four with Ashuganj Police Station, two with Sarail Police Station and one with Akhaura railway police station.

At least 414 people have been named in these cases alongside more than 39,000 unknown individuals. Until yesterday, 346 people were arrested.

Among the arrestees, 305 are Hefajat men, 38 BNP leaders and activists and three Jamaat-Shibir activists.

At least five people were killed and over 50 others, including 25 police personnel, injured in clashes between members of law enforcement agencies and Hefajat men during Hefajat's demonstrations in Sadar upazila's Nandanpur area.

During Hefajat's countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal on April 28, its activists set fire to three buildings, including the land office in the district's Sadar upazila and rail station, vandalised several private and government establishments, including Zila Parishad building, municipality building, police lines, industrial school, Alauddin Music Academy and Foirtala Bus Stand in Sadar upazila.

In another development, Abdur Rahim Kashemi, joint general secretary of Hefajat's Brahmanbaria district unit, yesterday resigned from the organisation seeking justice for those involved in the violence carried out by Hefajat in the district from March 26 to 28.

He announced his resignation through a written statement.

In the statement, the influential Hefajat leader said, "I am officially quitting from all the activities of Hefajat and from all the posts of national and district committees of the organisation."

"The mayhem carried out by Hefajat across the country in protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit was inhumane and unacceptable."

Earlier, Maulana Abdullah Mohammad Hasan, a nayeb-e-ameer of Hefajat, resigned from the organisation, citing the same ground. 

[Our Munshiganj and Brahmanbaria correspondents contributed to this report.]