The dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami was staged peacefully in the capital as well as across the country yesterday.
A key ally of the BNP-led 19-party alliance, Jamaat called the shutdown protesting the death penalty of party chief Motiur Rahman Nizami in 10-truck arms haul case.
Jamaat in a statement claimed that the police had illegally arrested 150 party supporters from different districts.
No untoward incident was reported in the city where most people attended their daily works. Apart from the low presence of private cars on the streets, vehicular movement remained normal throughout the day. Additional law enforcers were deployed at all key points.
Hartal in Chittagong was also peaceful, although five Jamaat-Shibir men were detained from different places in Sitakunda upazila on charges of sabotage, said Iftekhar Hasan, officer-in-charge of Sitakunda police station.
Our correspondent said no inter-district bus left Chittagong, but traffic on the city stayed normal and rail communication remained undisrupted.
In Faridpur, around a dozen people armed with sticks vandalised three shops on Mohila Road early yesterday.
Our Chandpur correspondent quoted Police Superintendent Amir Zafar as saying that five Jamaat-Shibir men had been arrested for trying to create violence. No incident of picketing was reported in the town.
Assistant Superintendent of Satkhira Police Kazi Moniruzzaman said there had been no processions, picketing or rally held in the district, reports our correspondent.
In Gopalganj, the hartal day was marked with some anti-hartal processions brought out by the Awami League and its students’ body Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Our Kurigram correspondent said police had raided different areas of the district and detained 26 Jamaat-Shibir men. Sanjay Kumar Kundu, district police superintendent, said they had been arrested for planning subversive activities.