DHAKA: The 48-hour hartal, called by Jamaat-e-Islami, is underway for second straight day on Thursday amid stray incidents of violence across the country.
The party and its student wing Chhatra Shibir are observing the general strike for protesting the Supreme Court verdict that awarded death penalty to Quader Mollah.
Banglanews correspondent report: A leader of Jamaat-e-Islami was killed, 15 persons including five cops were injured, and numbers of vehicles were vandalized and torched during the hartal hours throughout the country.
Police, however, picked up 56 Jamaat-Shibir activists from different districts including capital while picketing.
In Meherpur, a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami was shot dead and 14 people, including five policemen, nine activists of Jamaat-Shibir, were injured while attacking police car at Gouripur under Mujibnagar upazila.
In capital, some activists of Chhatra Shibir, in a pro-hartal procession, blasted three cocktails and vandalized a bus in Demra area under Jatrabari thana at around 7:00am.
Police, however, held 11 Shibir men from separate places of city’s Jatrabari area while conducting violent activities.
Jamaat activists, moreover, put barricade on the road by torching their banners in city’s Shahjadpur area at around 7:30 am.
Besides, a chase and counter chase occurred between Jamaat-Shibir activists and law enforcers centering hartal in capital’s Azimpur area at about 7:25 am. They also blasted few cocktails and vandalized a police pick up van in the area.
In Meherpur, an activist of Chhatra Shibir was shot dead and five policemen were injured including an officer-in-charge and a sub-inspector when Jamaat-Shibir men attacked police vehicle at Bandar village under Sadar thana at around 7:30am.
In Sylhet, Metropolitan Police nabbed seven leaders and activists of Jamaat on Thursday. Earlier police arrested around 20 activists from different drives on Tuesday and Wednesday centering Jamaat called 48-hour hartal.
In Bogra, at least five protestors were rounded up by police when they tried to barricade the road at around 6:30 am tal.
In Barisal, police arrested three Shibir men while they were torching and vandalizing vehicles on Dhaka-Barisal on Thursday.
In Bagerhat, Law enforcers arrested eight Shibir activists from Bagerhat-Khulna Highway while they were vandalizing vehicles and created violence in the area.
In Gazipur, two Shibir men were held while they attacked onto police at the Shibmari Mor, Gazipur outskirt of the capital at around 10:00 am on Thursday.
In Comilla, Jamaat-Shibir men torched a truck in Amjader Bazar area under Chouddagram upazila of the district on Wednesday night. The driver sustained burn injury in this incident and rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
In Khulna, Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession and set fire on the road and blasted three cocktails supporting hartal in divisional city’s Rupsha Bridge Bypass area on Thursday morning.
In Rajshahi, some Shibir men hurled cocktails at a patrol vehicle of Border Guard Bangladesh in Shiroeil area of the metropolitan city at around 5:30am.
On Tuesday, Jamaat-e-Islami called a 48-hour hartal from Wednesday morning protesting the Supreme Court verdict that sentenced Qauder Mollah to death.
BDST: 1413 HRS, SEP 19, 2013
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