Activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student associate body of Jamaat-e-Islami, brought out sudden processions in different areas of the capital Tuesday morning, demanding the release of their central president.
The activists also exploded around dozen homemade bombs and clashed with the police when restricted. Seven suspected Shibir activists were detained from the National Press Club area and High Court premises to avoid further unwanted situations.
However, there were no reports of any injury in the blasts and during the clash with the police.
According to police and witnesses, a group of Shibir activists of the Dhaka College unit led by its president, Saleh Uddin Ayub, brought out a procession near the New Market crossing at around 9:15am demanding the release of their central president Delowar Hossain, who is currently in police custody. On news, the police rushed to the spot but the activists fled the area blasting six homemade bombs.
When contacted, Mustafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of New Market police station told the Dhaka Tribune: “No one has been arrested yet in this regard. The incident took place in the jurisdiction of Lalbagh police station and we are trying to gather the information.”
Biplob Kumar Sarker, deputy commissioner of police (Tejgaon division) said another group of Shibir activists brought out a similar procession in the city’s Mohakhali flyover area and when the law enforcers tried to restrict them, they blasted five to six cocktails bombs in the area. Later, the police fired four blank shots and charged with batons to disperse the procession.
The incident halted traffic movement in the area which later resumed after 15 minutes, resulting in a momentary gridlock, he added.
Processions were also brought out in the city’s Shahjahanpur and Jatrabari areas and but the activists fled the scene well before the police reached the spot. However, no violent activities were reported during the procession and no arrests were made.
In the meantime, the police in a sudden drive at the city’s National Press Club and High Court area, arrested seven suspected Shibir activists.
In this regard, Sirjul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station said: “We have arrested the individuals upon suspicion and the arrestees had similar received and dialled numbers on their cell phone’s call logs, which is however a mystery.” Asked about any actions taken against them, he said they are investigating into the incident and interrogating the arrestees. “After we receive the correct information and all data about the arrestees are collected we would take action against them.”
No cases were yet filed with the police regarding the incidents until the submission of this report Tuesday evening.
