The central committee of the Qawmi madrasa-based Hefajat-e Islam has been dissolved.

The announcement was made last night by the Islamist outfit's Amir, Junayed Babunagari, through a 1.24-minute video message.

"The committee has been dissolved on advice of some important members of the central committee," he said in the message from Hathazari madrasa in Chattogram.

The Hefajat amir also said the organisation would run its activities through a convening committee in the coming days.

Hefajat has been under tremendous pressure from the government to restructure its central committee by removing from it those leaders involved in last month's mayhem in different parts of the country, several leaders of the outfit told this newspaper.

At least 17 people were killed as Hefajat men clashed with law enforcers in different parts of the country, especially in Brahmanbaria, from March 26 to 28 in protest of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.

As of yesterday, 19 top Hefajat leaders and 879 activists were arrested across the country over the acts of violence.

Talking to reporters yesterday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said different militant outfits that were crushed in the past are now trying to create anarchy in the country again under Hefajat's banner.

Earlier on April 20, in a confessional statement before Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Hefajat Assistant Finance Secretary Muhammad Ilias Hamidi said the Islamist outfit's recent violent activities were aimed at toppling the government.

Hefajat is now trying to negotiate with the government which continues its crackdown on the outfit's top leaders.

In a bid to convince the government, a Hefajat delegation met the home minister at his residence on April 19 and assured him that students of Qawmi madrasas will not get involved in any anti-government or anti-state activities.

In another development yesterday, the combined Islamic education board of Qawmi madrasas decided that the teachers and students of Qawmi madrasas will stay away from all sorts of political activities.

The government-recognised board, Al Hayatul Ulaya Lil Jamiatul Qaumia, made the "final decision" at a meeting at a madrasa in the capital with board Chairman Maulana Mahmudul Hasan in the chair, it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, police claimed that Hefajat Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque has close links with a Pakistani militant outfit. Mamunul, now on remand, allegedly developed the links during his Pakistan visit in 2005 with the help of his brother-in-law Mufti Niamatullah.

Niamatullah was later arrested in connection with the August 21 grenade attack carried out by banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji) in 2004. He also had close ties with Maulana Tajuddin, who was sentenced to death in the grenade attack case.

BOARD MEETING

Yesterday's decision by the combined board came amid the government's persistent pressure to exclude from it the Hefajat leaders involved in the March 26-28 violence in different parts of the country, said sources.

The board arranges central examinations for Qawmi madrasas and issues certificates.

At least a dozen Hefajat leaders, who hold various posts in the board, attended the meeting.

Seeking anonymity, two of them told this newspaper that they made the decision following the government's continued pressure to axe from the board the Hefajat leaders who have links to last month's mayhem.

MAMUNUL'S 'PAKISTAN LINK'

Harun-Or Rashid, DMP deputy commissioner (Tejgaon Division), said Mamunul had stayed in Pakistan for 45 days in 2005 and collected a module of a political party in that country. He later tried to apply it to Hefajat.

Talking to reporters at his office yesterday, Harun further said they learnt about it while interrogating Mamunul who is now on seven-day remand in a vandalism case filed with Mohammadpur Police Station.

The DMP official further said they found evidence of huge financial transactions involving Mamunul by examining his mobile phone.

"Mamunul was collecting money from Pakistan, Dubai and Qatar, using the name of Babri mosque in India. He later used these funds to train students at different mosques and madrasas in the country," said Harun without giving details.

MORE CASES

Two more cases were filed against Mamunul yesterday with Paltan Police Station over vandalism, arson and sabotage at Baitul Mukarram mosque on March 26.

Three joint secretaries general of Hefajat -- Lokman Hakim, Junayed Al Habib and Nasir Uddin Monir -- were also made accused in the cases, according to first information reports.

Abab Ahmed Rizvi and Rumam Sheikh -- both activists of the Awami League -- filed the cases.

Asked, Syed Nurul Islam, DMP deputy commissioner (Motijheel Division), said they already started probing the cases.

According to sources at the police headquarters, at least 143 cases have been filed so far over acts of violence in different parts of the country from March 26 to 28.

Meanwhile, the Detective Branch of Police has taken Mamunul's father-in-law Oliyar Rahman into custody.

Oliyar, a freedom fighter and a former member of the army, lives in Faridpur.

Contacted, Md Ohidujjman, officer-in-charge of Alfadanga Police Station in Faridpur, said, "Oliyar was not detained or arrested. Detectives from Dhaka Metropolitan Police took him to the capital to quiz him."

Earlier on April 21, Oliyar, father of Mamunul's second wife, was suspended from the post of ward-4 president of Gopalpur Union AL unit.

HEFAJAT'S CENTRAL COMMITTEE 

On November 15 last year, Babunagari was declared Hefajat amir at the end of its council held at Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari Madrasa in Chattogram. Before that, he was secretary general of the outfit.

The council was held around two months after the death of Hefajat supremo Shah Ahmad Shafi in September that year.

Soon after the formation of the 249-member central committee, Hefajat hogged the headlines as it strongly opposed the construction of Bangabandhu's sculpture in the capital and gave anti-government statements.

Later, tension between the government and Hefajat over the issue eased following meetings between the two sides.

Hefajat drew fresh attention of the government when it opposed Modi's Bangladesh visit on March 26, the day the country celebrated the golden jubilee of its independence.

Following Hefajat's three-day mayhem in different parts of the country, the government launched a crackdown on the Islamist outfit.

Hefajat first appeared on the scene in 2009 by protesting a draft national women development policy that provided equal inheritance rights to women.

Things changed after the 2013 mayhem at Shapla Chattar, and the then Hefajat amir Shafi and the AL government got closer.

But a faction of Hefajat, led by Babunagari, was totally against the outfit's "soft approach" towards the government, according to several Hefajat leaders.