Hefazat-e-Islam, who threatened to oust the government overnight, has gone silent after being driven out of the capital on Monday by law enforcers, in a 15-minute operation.
The top leaders of the Islamist outfit, who amassed thousands of madrasa students and teachers and announced that they were ready to die to safeguard Islam, have reportedly gone into hiding after police filed 18 cases against them in the capital.
The only visible activity by the organisation since Monday was the announcement of a hartal on May 12, made by its cultural secretary Ashraf Ali Nizampur on Tuesday.
On Monday police sent Hefazat chief Shah Ahmed Shafi alias Allama Shafi back home to Chittagong’s Hathazari and took Secretary General Junaid Babunagari into a nine-day remand.
Law enforcers have launched a drive across the country to round up Hefazat leaders in hiding. Their list also includes some leaders of main opposition BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami.
Additional commissioner (crime and operations) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Abdul Jalil Mondol confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that a drive was already under way to arrest those who created havoc in the capital’s Paltan and Motijheel areas on Sunday.
Hefazat-e-Islam advisor and chairman of Islami Oikya Jote, Abdul Latif Nizami admitted the group was in disarray. “We will come to the frontline soon and announce further protest programmes shortly.”
Hefazat’s publicity secretary Ahalullah Wasel echoed Nizami but said the leaders were giving all kinds of support from “behind the curtains” so that the group’s activities could go on smoothly.
Asked what would happen to its demands, Wasel said they would come to the political forefront very shortly with strong programmes against the government and what they see as its misrule.
Over the last two days, the Dhaka Tribune tried to contact a number of leaders from the outfit but found all of their mobile phones switched off.
The Dhaka Tribune also tried in vain to contact Hefazat’s central joint secretary Mainuddin Ruhi, Dhaka city unit convener Nur Hossain Kasemi and joint secretary general Mufti Fayezullah.
All of them are on the list of 40 top Hefazat leaders whom law enforcers are seeking.
A Dhaka court has meanwhile issued an arrest warrant against BNP leader MK Anwar for instigating communal violence.
Inspector General of Police Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said an investigation was under way into the violence that occurred during Hefazat’s rally and “Dhaka Siege” and appropriate actions would be taken against everyone involved.
The Chittagong-based Islamist outfit founded a few years ago, first stole the spotlight on January 19, 2010 when it staged a protest demanding the revoking of women’s empowerment and education policies.
The platform, which represents radical political organisations, principals of prominent madrasas and clerics of various mosques, rose to real prominence more recently by challenging the Shahbag Ganajagaran Mancha which it labelled “atheistic.”
On April 6, Hefazat staged a showdown in the capital by organising a mass rally at the capital’s Shapla Chattar in Motijheel pushing a 13-point plan which demanded the enactment of an anti-blasphemy law with provisions for capital punishment, exemplary punishment for all “atheist” bloggers and a ban on the “free mixing” of men and women.
The BNP, HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami extended their support for the charter.
Hefazat’s May 5 "siege” which was announced at the April 6 rally, ended in widespread violence, vandalism, clashes with law enforcers and 15-minute operation that night which drove out the men gathered in Motijheel.
Hefazat and BNP say several thousand people were killed in the drive while the DMP claims no one was killed in it.
