One killed as day-long hartal progresses
New Age Online
The daylong shutdown is passing across the country amid stray incidents, witnesses said.The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance called a nationwide dawn-to-dusk general strike on Monday protesting against the ban imposed on any gathering in Gazipur that thwarted its rally, scheduled for Saturday.In the capital, the BNP activists brought out a procession led by the party’s Dhaka city unit member-secretary, Habib-un Nabi Khan Sohel, at Bailey Road at around 8:30am. The police chased them and detained 7 to 8 activists at the spot.The police also held two people in Naya Paltan area on suspicion that they are ‘BNP activists’ this morning, our correspondent reported.In Noakhali, a school teacher of Dhaka, Shamsunnahar, 37, was killed by brickbats that hit her head. She was taken to Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College and Hospital where on duty doctors declared her dead.Accompanied by husband Shahjahan Siraj, she was going to her in-laws’ village home at Poragacha of Lakshmipur. When they reached pourabazar area of Noakhali district township by a covered van, the pickets challenged them and threw brickbats. One of the flying brickbats hit her head, making her head bleeding.
The victim was a teacher of Tawhid Laboratory School in Agargaon, it is learnt.In Dhaka, Motijheel zone assistant commissioner, Saifur Rahman, said ‘We will release them after interrogation if they are found innocent.’Besides, four platoons of police were deployed in front of BNP central office at Naya Paltan. Water cannons, armed personnel carriers and mobile prison were also parked there.BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi along with a few activists took position inside the party office.Rizvi, at a press briefing held this morning, said that the government was committing crimes against humanity as they were using ‘government agents’ and law enforcers who opened fire on BNP activists.He alleged that police fired at a procession brought by the party activists at Pallabi in support of the hartal, leaving ‘a BNP leader, named Swapan, ‘critically injured’’.
Rizvi said he is afraid if Swapan was alive.A number of 30 people were detained at places including the capital during the hartal hours, he claimed.
Meanwhile, the anti-hartal supporters took to the street in front of the ruling party central office at Bangabandhu Avenue.Anti-hartal processions were also seen at different parts of the city, such as Pallabi.However, rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws dominated the city roads. Commuter buses were nearly normal although the number of private vehicles was thin.In Khulna, both pro-hartal and anti hartal activists brought out separate processions this morning. No major incident was reported in the city. However, police detained a man with a pistol. He was identified as Mamun, 30.
Officer-in-charge of Sadar police, Sukumar, could not say if the detention of the man was related to hartal incidents. The city traffic was nearly normal, with rickshaws and easy-bikes dominating the streets, our correspondent reported.
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