Dhaka: A Jamaat activist died in a blast and six policemen were severely injured in violence across Bangladesh as Islamists enforced a nationwide strike for a second day on Tuesday to protest a “death warrant” issued for a senior fundamentalist leader for genocide during the 1971 war.
Police said an activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, was killed and three others were injured in the blast while they were making crude bombs to be used during the shutdown at Sitakunda area on the outskirts of the northeastern port city of Chittagong.
“Three Shibir activists were injured as an explosion took place when they were making bombs.
One of them, Rasel has died,” a local official told bdnews24.com. A prosecution witness of the war crimes trial also succumbed to his injuries, two days after he was hacked by suspected Jamaat activists at southwestern Pirozpur, state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital said.
Six policemen were severely injured when the Jamaat activists along with supporters of their crucial ally, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP), attacked them in northwester Rajshahi.
A policeman suffered a fracture in his right leg while another sustained injuries in his head in the clashes.
The police personnel came under the attack during Jamaat’s dawn-to-dusk daylong hartal across the country for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. The Jamaat separately called the shutdown to be observed along with the ongoing blockade enforced by the 18-party opposition alliance led by the BNP to press its demands for rescheduling the January 5 polls, installing a non-party interim government and releasing its leaders.
BNP spokesman Salauhuddin Ahmed yesterday said the 72-hour opposition blockade, which began on Saturday, has now been extended to Friday.
On Monday, a 12-year old boy was killed and a truck was torched, critically injuring the driver and his helper, as the Jamaat enforced a violent shutdown to thwart the war crimes trial and save their convicted leaders. The ongoing strike erupted after a special tribunal two days ago ordered the execution of Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah, sentenced to death three months ago for genocide during the 1971 liberation war.
Mollah, the fourth senior-most Jamaat leader, is the first politician to be found guilty by the apex court. Over 150 people have died in clashes between the Jamaat activists and security forces since the first sentence was announced in January. (PTI)
