Death toll now 2 in Panchagarh clash over Ahmadiyya program

Another young man, who was injured in a clash over an Ahmadiyya Salana Jalsa in Panchagarh on Friday, has died.

The deceased was Jahid Hasan, 22, Panchagarh Superintendent of Police (SP) SM Sirajul Huda confirmed. 

He said that the situation in the area is now under control.

Jahid is said to have belonged to the Ahmadiyya community and was a resident of the Banpara area of Natore. 

Meanwhile, Salana Jalsa Convener Ahmed Tafseer Chowdhury alleged that the protestors took him to the Karatoya River and hacked him to death.

The clash between the police and a section of Muslims took place after Friday prayers, leaving Arifur Rahman, 30, dead and dozens injured.

Panchagarh SP said Arifur had been an activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir.

During the clash, the police fired more than 100 rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse the stone-pelting protesters, witnesses said. Several houses and shops were also reportedly vandalized. 

Some journalists covering the violence were among the injured.

After the Jummah prayers, Muslims from some mosques gathered in the Panchagarh municipality area and started a protest march. 

Then they went to the town staging an agitation there. At one point they marched towards Jalsa in the Ahmed Nagar area.

As the police stopped the procession at the Panchagarh Chowrangi intersection, the protesters became angry and started throwing brickbats at the police in the city's cinema hall road area.

The police had to move back at one point due to the protest. At least 30 people were injured.

Shops in Panchagarh town closed as the violence spread panic among the people. The angry mob also looted around 20 houses of the Ahmadis located in Ahmednagar.

Media workers were also unable to go anywhere as the police and angry protestors had taken positions at different points.

Meanwhile, the BGB and RAB joined the police to control the situation.

Around 10 hours after the incident, at about 8:30pm, the local administration directed the Jalsa organizers to end the program, according to SP SM Sirajul Huda.

Tensions over Jalsa, an annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya community, have been going on for a long time in the area.

Some Islamic groups in Bangladesh consider Ahmadis, also known as Qadianis, to be non-muslims and want a ban on the sect's activities.

Like every year, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat organized the three-day-long annual Salana Jalsa in Panchagarh's Ahmednagar on Friday.

Sammilito Khatme Nabuwat Sangrakkhan Parishad, Iman Akida Rakkha Committee and Islami Juba Samaj staged a similar attack centring the Jalsa on February 13, 2019 where more than 150 people were injured. 

However, the law enforcement agencies have yet to provide information about which organization staged Friday's attack.

Our Thakurgaon correspondent, Zakir Mostafiz Milu, contributed to this report