Jamaat-enforced hartal in 8 dists ends peacefully

Rickshaws ply the roads in Bogra town during Jamaat's relaxed hartal in the district. Jamaat enforced a half-day shutdown in eight districts of Rajshahi division yesterday, protesting the arrest of its Majlish-e-Shura member Prof Rafiqul Islam. Photo: Star

A half-day hartal enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami protesting the arrest of a party leader passed off almost peacefully in eight districts of Rajshahi division yesterday.
In a press release on Monday, the Islamist party called the strike from 6.00am to 2.00pm, following arrest of Professor Rafiqul Islam, a Majhlish-e-Shura member of central Jammat and former ameer of Chapainawabganj.
Police arrested Rafiqul from Belepukur area of Chapainawabganj town in the early hours of the day.
In Chapainawabganj, police chased a group of activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat, when they gathered in front of PTI at Shibtala  in a bid to bring out a procession at about 6.30am.
The Jamaat-Shibir activists hurled a cocktail in PTI area of the town but it did not explode.
During the incident, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) fired several rubber bullets in the air and recovered the cocktail.
Most of the shops remained closed in the town and almost all modes of vehicles except for battery-run easy-bike and CNG-run auto-rickshaws stayed off the streets for a couple of hours.
In Natore, Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession in Chakrampur and Harishpur areas of the district town in the morning.
Police dispersed them when they blocked the Natore-Dhaka Highway by staging a sit-in in front of Sher-e-Bangla School.
In Bogra, police and pickets clashed at Dhunat intersection of Sherpur municipality in the morning.
Police said pro-hartal activists tried to block the Bogra-Sherpur highway. They threw brick-bats and vandalised several vehicles on the highway.
When police rushed to the spot, pickets charged brick-chips also on them, triggering a clash.
Sub-inspector Golam Mostafa and activist Abdul Barik, 52, were injured in the clash and at least four picket were arrested from the spot.
The arrestees are Shajahan Ali, 50, Abdur Rahman, 60, Siraj, 50, and injured picket Abdul Barik, 52, of the upazila.
The shutdown in other districts -- Rajshahi, Sirajganj, Pabna, Naogaon and Joypurhat -- was also observed in a relaxed way.
Meanwhile, a half-day hartal enforced by  Islami Chhatra Shibir in Chittagong (south), Bandarban and Cox's Bazar districts ended peacefully yesterday, reports UNB.
No violent incident was reported from any of the seven upazilas--Boalkhali, Banshkhali, Potiya, Anwara, Chandanaish, Satkania and Lohagara -- of Chittagong (south) which were under the purview of the shutdown.
No long-route bus left the port city for Cox's Bazar and Bandarban during the hartal hours.
There were no reports of violence also from anywhere in Bandarban and Cox' s Bazar.
During hartal hours, vehicular movement and business activities were normal, but no long-route bus left the districts.
On Monday, Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, called the half-day hartal, protesting the arrest of. Shibir unit president M Tarique Hossain from his city residence.