Chittagong, Feb 25 (Inditop.com) Nineteen people were injured in a violent clash after thousands converged in this Bangladesh port town under the banner of a little-known Islamist group to protest the Sheikh Hasina government’s policy against religion-based politics.
Six policemen were injured, one of them critically, as the group called Hefazate Islam Bangladesh, Wednesday insisted on holding a rally that the police said was without prior permission. The group was formed a month ago.
The protesters were teachers and students of the madrassas, the Islamic seminaries in and outside the port town that has been known to be a stronghold of religion-based politics.
Several thousand students on around 40 vehicles headed towards Laldighi Maidan, a public park, and sought to erect a podium, The Daily Star said Thursday.
Police fired blank shots and baton-charged to disperse them and picked up around 40 from the spot.
The group said it wanted to protest against the government’s move to slap a ban on religion-based politics and the proposed education policy.
The measures are perceived as efforts to move back to a constitution and a polity that emerged immediately after the independence in 1971 in which the Islamist groups and political parties were banned.
The day-long stand-off continued till late Wednesday night, The Daily Star said.
Director of the city’s Hathazari Boro Madrasa Ahmad Shafi, popularly known as Boro Huzur, and chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) Mufti Izharul Islam are the main founders of Hefazate Islam.
The IOJ shared power during 2001-06 with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of current opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia.
Wednesday’s rally was the first showdown of Hefazate Islam.
Izharul said they formed the platform to raise a movement against the government’s “anti-Islam activities” like attempt to ban religion-based politics and formulating secular education draft policy.
He also warned of tougher movement against “foreign conspiracy” to separate Chittagong Hill Tracts from Bangladesh.
“It is foreign conspiracy to make a separate Christian state there,” he said.
He vowed to form a greater platform in cooperation with different political parties to protest against the government’s “anti-Islam” activities.
