Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir locked in a fierce clash with police in the capital’s Badda after Friday’s jumma prayers.
At one stage of the clash, the Jamaat-Shibir cadres set a bus on fire and vandalised several other vehicles inciting severe panic among pedestrians, passengers and other people within the area.
Witnesses said a group of Jamaat-Shibir men brought out a procession at around 1:15pm from near North Badda Kamil Madrasa protesting the capital punishment of their leader Abdul Kader Mollah and in support of the newly announced blockade programme scheduled to begin Saturday morning.
When police chased the procession, the Jamaat-Shibir men countered the law enforcers with brickbats leading to the clash.
Police fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters while Jamaat-Shibir men pelted brickbats at the law enforcers.
Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Badda police station said police resorted to deploying 15 rounds of teargas shells and firing rubber bullets to disperse the clashing criminals and bring the situation under control.
None were arrested as the criminals had managed to flee, but bids of arresting them were on, the OC said.
Meanwhile, at least 10 crude bombs were set off in front of Bangla Academy sometime around 2pm when the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal brought out a procession protesting the arrest of JCD president Abdul Kader Bhuiyan Jewel and another JCD leader.
Sirajul Islam, OC of Shahbagh police station said the criminals hurled the bombs from the Suhrawardi Udyan and ran away before police could reach the spot.
