Devotees seek divine blessings as Ijtema ends

Thousands of devotees from home and abroad raised their hands in prayers seeking divine blessings as the three-day second phase of the Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest congregations of the Muslims, ended with the Akheri Munajat (concluding prayers) today.

Noted Indian Islamic scholar Mawlana Muhammad Saad led the Akheri Munajat that began at 11:00am and continued till 11:44am, our Gazipur correspondent reports.

Several million devotees, including over 5,000 foreigners from around 90 countries, participated in the Akheri Munajat on the banks of the Turag river in Tongi.

Meanwhile, a devotee Joynal Abedin, 70, from Kishoreganj died of old-age complications on Friday night. With Joynal, nine devotees have died so far at the Ijtema venue this year.

Earlier, the first phase of the three-day Ijtema started on January 13 and concluded on January 15.

Around 11,000 uniformed and plainclothes police, Rab, and members of intelligence agencies were deployed in and around the Ijtema ground to avert any untoward situation.

Five-layer security measures were taken and CCTV cameras have been set up at each of the 17 entrances to the venue, according to police sources.

The district administration deployed 10 mobile courts to check selling adulterated, stale or sub-standard food at the restaurants adjacent to the venue.