A clash between the students of a local madrasa and the followers of of ‘Haider Baba’ alias ‘Hata Baba’, who recently died, has injured at least 50 people at the capital’s Tajmahal Road in the Mohammadpur area on Wednesday evening.
Police and witnesses said the clash erupted when the madrasa students opposed a move of the followers of the ‘Hata Baba’ regarding the arrangement of a function near the grave of ‘Hata Baba’ at Tajmahal Road in the evening.
According to witnesses both the groups comprising several hundred people took part in the clash that started at around 6pm and ended at around 8pm.
“The clash turned violent as most of the followers were the dwellers at the Geneva Camp at Mohammadpur,” said Biplab Sarkar, deputy commissioner at the Tejgaon Division.
Later, the police rushed in, fired blank shots and charged batons to disperse the agitated people.
Huge additional forces were deployed in the area to avert further clash, but a tense situation has been prevailing among the supporters of both the groups.
Locals said the clash halted the vehicular movement in the area, creating a severe traffic jam and panic among the mass people and commuters.
