15 injured in N'ganj clash

At least 15 people were injured in a clash between police and activists of Narayanganj Sangskritik Jote at Chashara Shaheed Minar in the town yesterday.
The clash ensued when police tried to rescue Jubo League leader Jahirul Islam Parvez from the mass beating of Jote activists after he threatened its leaders for holding a rally at the Shaheed Minar, witnesses said.
Sangskritik Jote held the rally in the evening protesting the attack on the office of its president allegedly by Parvez, a close associate of Awami League leader Shamim Osman, on Friday.
Jote leaders alleged that police charged batons on them without any provocation. Police, however, said they went to the spot to arrest Parvez.
As the activists hurled brickbats at the law enforcers, police hit them with truncheons and fired 30 blank shots that left 15 people injured, locals said.
Rafiur Rabbi, ex-president of the Jote and also father of slain Tanvir Mohammad Toki, alleged that Parvez had gone to the Shaheed Minar with the intention of killing him.
He also said police, present at the spot, played the role of silent spectators when Parvez, who is an accused in the Toki murder case, hurled threats at the Jote leaders.
District Police Super Syed Nurul Islam said Parvez has been arrested. About the clash, he said, police had fired blanks shots to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, Jubo league activists barricaded the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Munshiganj and Dhaka-Narayanganj link roads last night to demand the immediate release of Parvez.