At least 20 people including seven policemen were injured Sunday in clashes between hartal supporters and the law enforcers in Habiganj during the nationwide hartal enforced by Hefazat-e-Islam.
Hefazat called the general strike protesting the killing of its activists and the "attack on them by ruling party men" Friday during anti-Modi demonstrations in Dhaka, Chittagong, and other districts.
In Habiganj's Ajmiriganj upazila, picketers locked into an argument with policemen as they were conducting patrols.
At one stage, hundreds of villagers and Hefazat supporters started attacking law enforcers with domestic weapons and brickbats.
Responding to this, additional police force was deployed but the villagers, using a local mosque’s microphone, urged others to join the fight against law enforcers.
Total seven policemen including Ajmiriganj police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nurul Islam were injured in the clash. The hartal supporters also vandalized a pick-up van and torched two motorcycles of the police.
To take control of the situation, police fired 33 rounds of rubber bullets and hurdled brick chips towards the protesters.
OC Nurul Islam said: "The situation is under control now. However, additional law enforcers have been deployed at the spot. Of those seven injured policemen, Sub-Inspectors Polwel and Mujibur were admitted to a local hospital."
