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| Bangladesh |
| 20 hurt, shops burnt in Ctg |
| 2011-01-08 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] At least 20 people were maimed and some 10 shops and five houses burnt yesterday as two groups of people clashed to gain authority over a mosque in Patiya upazila of the district. Police jugged 10 people from the spot, reported our Chittagong correspondent. The clash erupted around noon when Wahabi and Sunni people went to Baitul Ekram Mosque at Fakirhat in West Patiya for the Juma prayers, witnesses said. The Sunni of Juldha and the Wahabi people of Shah Amirpur villages have been feuding for long to get control over the mosque, and in that effort each of the groups has been trying to appoint its Imam to the mosque. To avoid any untoward incidents, the local administration asked the villagers not to offer prayers there, locals said. But the groups went to the mosque yesterday and attacked each other with sticks and wooden bars. They also vandalised and burned shops and houses in the area, Niaz Ahmed, an officer of Lamabazar fire station, told The Daily Star. On information, police rushed to the place and made the arrests. Mohammad Abul Hossain, upazila nirbahi officer of Patiya, said yesterday's incident was a sequel to the rivalry between the groups. He, however, denied the administration ordered not to offer prayers at the mosque. A police camp was set up there after the incident to defuse the tension, he added. Rashid, officer-in-charge of Patiya Police Station, said police sat with leaders of the groups and the mosque committee yesterday to resolve the issue. |
| Posted by:Fred |