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| Bangladesh |
| Protesters clash with cops, 20 hurt |
| 2011-04-02 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] At least 20 people, including 12 police personnel, were maimed when hundreds of activists of 'Hefazate Islami Bangladesh' clashed with police ahead of a demonstration at Anderkilla in the port city yesterday. The Islamist organisation had announced to hold the demonstration, protesting the government's move to ban fatwa (religious edict), and demanding cancellation of the proposed Education Policy and National Women Development Policy, sources said. The violence began at about 2:00pm when police obstructed an attempt of the organisation to bring out a procession from Jame Mosjid minutes after Friday prayers, witnesses said. The agitating activists also vandalised six vehicles and threw brickbats and stones at the law enforcers. Police charged truncheons and lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators. Assistant Commissioner of Kotwali Police Station Jedan Al Musa and Patrol Inspector Nazrul Islam suffered injuries during the clash. Hundreds of people, who went to say their prayers, became trapped in the mosque as the chase and counter-chase between police and protesters lasted for about an hour. Police jugged five men of the organisation during the clash. Later, they showed two of them incarcerated releasing the others. Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of the cop shoppe, said the activists first started throwing stones and bricks from Anderkilla Jame Mosque. They also beat up a police man and tried to snatch his shotgun, police sources said. A large number of madrasa students from Hathajari and Rangunia took part in the protest of the Islamist organisation. Earlier around 12:30pm, police tried to prevent the madrasa students at Amanbazar from going to the rally in three vehicles. The angry madrasa students put blockade on the Hathazari road for three hours, sources said. They also vandalised at least three vehicles there at that time. Patrol Inspector Nazrul said they are going to file a case against the activists. Mufti Ahmed Safi, director of Hathazari Madrasa; and Mufti Ijharul Islam, chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote ... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support... , established 'Hefazate Islami Bangladesh' in January 2010. |
| Posted by:Fred |