Violence, arson mark 2nd day's hartal

Islami Chhatra Shibir leader Khalilur Rahman lying in a pool of blood in Dhania of Jatrabari on day-2 of the Jamaat-e-Islami hartal yesterday. He was pronounced dead at Mitford Hospital. Photo: Star

A leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir was killed yesterday, on the final day of Jamaat enforced 48-hour shutdown, when police chased a pro-hartal procession in the capital's Jatrabari area.

The party activists burn tyres on Dhaka-Chittagong highway on the outskirts of Comilla city yesterday, the second day of the 48-hour countrywide hartal enforced by Jamaat. Photo: Star

Chhatra Shibir, a pro-Jamaat student body, has identified the deceased as Khalilur Rahman, 22, president of Shibir unit of ward-88 and a student of a private university in the city.
Other than this, around 40 people, including a 13-year-old boy and seven policemen, were injured in four separate incidentson the second day of the countrywide hartal called by Jamaat protesting the cancellation of its registration with the Election Commission.

Injured boy Babul, a class-IV student of Underprivileged Children's Educational Programmes, was seriously hurt in the left hand by a crude bomb hurled by pro-hartal activists in Chittagong.
Meanwhile in the incident at Jatrabari, a lensman of private television channel Banglavision also sustained injuries.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kadamtali Police Station Mazharul Islam said about 20 Shibir men had brought out a procession near Bright School and College on Donia Road around 7:00am and started vandalising vehicles.

Men of Jamaat-e-Islami dug a large hole at the entrance of this bridge at Bhoirampur village on Pirojpur-Nazirpur road, much to the suffering of commuters. Photo: Star

They had also exploded several crude bombs, said the OC, adding that police then chased the pro-hartal activists and fired three rubber bullets with shotgun.
While fleeing, one of the Shibir men [Khalilur] had fallen on the ground and sustained severe injuries in the head, said OC Mazharul adding that he had been rushed to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
According to morgue sources, Khalilur died due to a grievous fracture on the back of the head. He also received numerous rubber bullets all over the body, including the head.
However, what caused the head injury is still unclear.

In a press release, police claimed that Khalilur had sustained the injury on getting hit by a car.
Meanwhile, Selina Akhter, a resident of the area, said police had opened fire at the Shibir men when they brought out a procession. But she rejected the claim that pro-hartal activists had resorted to vandalism.
Another witness Hashi Begum also said the same.
Abdul Halim, brother-in-law of the deceased, said Khalilur used to live in a mess at Jurain and was a first-year student of Department of Islamic Studies at Bangladesh Islami University in Manik Nagar.

Thirteen-year-old boy Babul in Chittagong Medical College Hospital. He was severely injured after a cocktail thrown by Jamaat picketers exploded on him during yesterday's hartal in Chittagong city's Bakalia Miakhan Nagar area. Photo: Star

Shibir claimed that police had indiscriminately fired at the protesters from behind during the procession.
In Chandpur, at least 30 people, including six policemen, were injured in a clash between law enforcers and Jamaat-Shibir men. Pro-shutdown people vandalised the car of chief judicial magistrate at that time.
Meanwhile, police yesterday filed two cases against 4,000 Jamaat-Shibir men in connection with Tuesday's violence in Gangni and Sadar upazilas of Meherpur district.
Police also filed a case with Sadar Police Station of Chapainawabganj against 71 Jamaat men and another against 50 more Jamaat men in connection with the violence during hartal hours.