The Jatiya Masjid Baitul Mukarram Musalli Committee yesterday demanded a ban on all kinds of political activities in and around Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque.
They also demanded the immediate arrest of activists of Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP, who the committee says carried out vandalism and deadly violence in the capital on May 5.
Sheikh Atiar Rahman Miah, president of the committee, stated the demand at a press conference held at the committee’s office in the Baitul Mukarram market in the morning.
The committee leaders also asked the government to repair the Baitul Mukarram market, which was badly damaged by the arson and vandalism of Hefazat-e-Islam activists during its Dhaka siege programme. They demanded compensation for the small traders who lost everything in the mayhem.
Speaking to journalists, Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Islami Oikya Jote, claimed the violence came from Jamaat-e-Islami activists, instigated by BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia’s speech.
Misbahur demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators. He claimed Hefazat activists also burnt 600 copies of the Qur’an.