Environment and Forest Minister Hasan Mahmud, yesterday, blamed Jamaat-Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists for committing the violence and acts of destruction on May 5’s Hefazat rally at the directives of their senior leaders.
He made the statement at a press briefing held at the ministry yesterday.
He said: “They [senior leaders] have financed the violence, supplied arms and ammunitions and instigated Hefazat-e-Islam to create unrest in the city so that they can achieve their goal to come in power.
“The activists of Jamaat-Shibir has looted banks and jewellery shops, vandalised the Baitul Mokarram Mosque and burned its carpets and adjacent book shops which sold the holy Quran and hadiths using the name of Hefazat.”
Hasan Mahmud, who is also the publicity secretary of the ruling Awami League, claimed that a total of nine party leaders of the 18-party alliance were involved with the Hefazat-e-Islam in the violence.
To uphold his claims, he said: “The government has many examples in this regard. Shihab, a leader of the Chhatra Shibir of Mirerswarai upazila, died during the clash between the Hefazat activists and the law enforcement agencies, which proves that the Jamaat and BNP along with their student wing leaders were involved in the day long confrontation.”
Mahmud mentioned the names of BNP leaders MK Anwar, Sadeque Hossain Khoka and Mirza Abbas as for the supervisors in the destructive activities executed at the rally and said: “JCD leaders Habibur Rashid, Ishaq Sarkar, Enam Ahmed and Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary Shafiqul Islam Masud along with Shibir’s city leader Abdul Jabbar led the confrontation using the name of Hefazat.”
“Despite the hostility, Khaleda Zia prompted their involvement with the violence and asked her party leaders to join Hefazat’s programme,” he added.
Mahmud said: “Such a statement from Khaleda Zia has shown that she is politically ruined and mentally disordered…and it seems that, she has become politically unfit after her statement of May 4 rally.”
The minister also told the reporters that the government will take legal actions against all the persons who were involved in and instigated the violence.
On the question of deaths which happened while controlling the violence, he said: “It is true that there were loss of lives in the attempt to control the situation but, we do not have the list of deaths yet. The Home Ministry will brief the media about the loss of lives.”
Health secretary of Awami League Badiuzzaman Dablu and Deputy Publicity Secretary Asim Kumar Ukil were also present at the briefing.
