Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farooque Hurt

Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farooque and two policemen were injured in separate clashes between the pro-hartal political activists and law enforcers as the 48-hour opposition-sponsored shutdown began Wednesday.

Police arrested at least 456 opposition activists across the country on the first day of the hartal.

Among the arrestees, 62 was arrested in Dhaka, nine in Chittagong, 13 in Rajshahi, 33 in Khulna, 11 in Sylhet and 21 in Barisal.

A number of mobile courts were active during the hartal hours in the city. A total of 17 people were awarded spot conviction in different terms.

Police picked up eight activists of Jamaat-e-Islami after a clash in Mirpur in the morning. In Mohakhali, Noor-e-Ara Safa, a former lawmaker and president of the Gulshan unit of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal, and five activists of the party were picked up.

No long-distance bus left or arrived in Dhaka. A few passenger buses, mostly of the BRTC, plied on the city streets. Commuters have to depend largely on CNG-run auto-rickshaws and rickshaws.

Commuter trains left the Kamalapur Railway Station in due time, said officials.

Law enforcers were out in the streets early morning much before the hartal convenors and appeared firm not to let the pro-hartal pickets gather anywhere in the capital.

Our correspondents covering the shutdown, announced in protest against scrapping of the caretaker government system, reported that police have cordoned off the BNP headquarters at Naya Paltan in the capital since morning and were not letting anyone enter.

Fearing arrest, BNP leaders and activists are understandably keeping off from gathering there.

Meanwhile, some BNP lawmakers including Zainal Abdin Farooque led a procession on the Manik Miah Avenue around 6:00am in support of the hartal.

Mohammadpur police intercepted them in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, triggering a scuffle.

At one stage, police baton charged them, injuring the opposition chief whip.

Chased by police, the BNP leaders and activists tried to take shelter inside the NAM flats. But police ran after them and beat them up there.

Injured in the head, Zainal Abdin was rushed to United Hospital.

Meanwhile, over 100 Jamaat activists brought out a procession in Mirpur at 6:00am.

Kazi Wazed Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirpur Police Station, said a police team led by Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Pallabi Zone Siraj Amin and OC of Kafrul Police Station Abdul Latif intercepted the procession when it reached Senpara Parbata.

Resisted, the hartal activists hurled brick chips on the law enforcers, leaving Siraj Amin and Abdul Latif injured.

Mirpur and Kafrul police, on information, rushed to the spot. They charged batons and dispersed them.

Police this time picked up eight Jamaat men from the spot, OC Wazed Ali said.

Meanwhile, police picked up six leaders of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal at Wireless Gate in Mohakhali around 11:20am.

Ashraful Azim, an officer of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, confirmed that police picked up Noor-e-Ara Safa along with her party activists there.

At Naya Paltan area, police picked up seven people around the noon.

The detainees, however, claimed to be pedestrians.

Talking to reporters at Naya Paltan, BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan said the government not only cordoned off the BNP office but also the democracy.

He condemned the police attack on Zainul Abdin Farooque.

In Chittagong, four were arrested with two cocktails and two containers of patrol from Agrabad area of the port city.

Police barred a BNP rally in Kazir Dewri area at around 10:00pm. They picked up five activists from the spot.

Three more BNP activists were picked up from Nimtola area when they were preparing to hold a rally in support of the hartal.

In Naryanganj, 15 people, including a cameraperson of a private TV channel, were injured when police charged batons on pro-hartal activists in Rupganj upazila.

Our Noakhali correspondent reported that 11 Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal activists were injured when they clashed with police. Police picked up at least 26 BNP men in nine upazilas of the district.

In Narsingdi, 10 hartal activists were injured when police charged batons on a procession in the morning.

In Bogra, pro-hartal activists set fire to a CNG-run three wheeler at Barogola area in the evening. Earlier in the afternoon, a mobile court sent a woman activist of BNP to jail for 15 days on charge of vandalising a vehicle.

In Chandpur, 20 people including eight policemen were injured in a clash between police and pickets in Haimchar upazila.

Our correspondent in Natore reported that pickets vandalised 10 vehicles including three buses and seven goods-laden trucks at different places in the district town.

BNP and its allies including the Jamaat-e-Islami enforced the 48-hour shutdown from 6:00am Wednesday in protest against scrapping of the caretaker government system and “hurting” the religious sentiment of the people through the 15th amendment to the constitution.

The hartal has put the nation virtually on a six-day “holiday” as an alliance of 12 parties led by Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish will enforce a 30-hour shutdown from Sunday after two weekly holidays on Friday and Saturday. 

News Source: thedailystar.net