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From New Nation Online Edition Front Page The first day of 3-day hartal was marked by sporadic violence in which at least 150 people were injured and an unspecified number picked up or arrested in Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country till evening yesterday.
Fourteen opposition parties led by Awami League enforced the hartal from 6:00am yesterday in protest against the killing of former finance minister SAMS Kibria, MP, and four others on Thursday’s grenade attack in the north- eastern town of Habiganj. Pickets and police clashed at Gulistan Motijheel, Paltan, Dhaka University campus, Russel Square of the city. Awami League leaders Obaidul Quader and Haji Selim were among the injured. Railway sources said that several inter-city express trains were obstructed at several places across the country yesterday. Railway tracks were also uprooted at Rashidpur-Satgaon on Akhaura-Sylhet route at about 1:20pm and distrupted train movement for several hours. The train service was restored after 5:00pm. Pro-hartal activists obstructed inter-city express trains in Chittagong-Sylhet, Dhaka-Bahadurabad and Khulna-Syedpur routes. Jalalabad Express Train was stranded at Noapara on Dhaka-Chittagong route at 8:25am. Uttarbanga Express was halted at Islampur Bazar in Jamalpur at about 8:30am, while Simanta Express on Khulna-Syedpur route was detained by mobs at the outer signal of Syedpur Railway Station at 8:40am. Another local train was held up at Bonarpara. In Dhaka city, shops and business establishments on the main roads remained closed. BRTC double deckers, some private buses, CNG three-wheelers and some taxicabs were found plying different city routes. Movement of rickshaw remained normal. Attendance in government offices and private establishments was thin. Education institutions remained closed. Buses did not ply on inter-district routes. The pro-hartal activists took out group-processions in Kakrail, Paltan, Motijheel, Gulistan, Dhanmondi and Mirpur areas demanding resignation of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government for failing to arrest the perpetrators of the series of grenade attacks on the opposition leaders.
In Kakrail, Awami League Presidium member Motiya Chowdhury courted arrest and boarded police van as police picked up a dozen of women activists at about 10:30am, while they were staging pickets from Shantinagar to Kakrail. They were released after an hour. Police dispersed two processions of Communist Party of Bangladesh and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal at Paltan Crossing in the morning and arrested five activists from the area. A procession led by Asaduzzaman Noor, MP was proceeding towards Motijheel from Paltan Crossing when a minibus was damaged in front of Baitul Mukkaram Mosque at about 11:00am. Police charged batons to disperse the marchers. They also picked up two persons from there. Later, the procession moved toward the DCCI Bhaban when Awami League leader Obaidul Kader and other party leaders and workers were beaten up by police, witnesses said. Kader was rushed to a city clinic for treatment. Police charged batons on a procession of Bangladesh Chhatra League near Rokeya Hall at about 11:00am, leaving several protestors, including BCL leaders Ashit Baran Biswas, Suchana Howlader and Munni wounded. Seven BCL activists were also picked up from the scene. Police charged at a procession of women workers of Awami league in Jhigatala area at about 9:00 am as the angry workers attacked a police van. Riot police also chased and charged batons on brick-throwing pickets at Jhigatala at about 8:45am, witnesses said. A procession led by former MP Haji Selim came under police action at noon near at Chankhar Pool leaving Haji Selim and several others injured. In Narayanganj, hartal was observed peacefully. The town AL organised a rally at its office and demanded exemplary punishment to the culprits. In Chittagong, pickets set ablaze a bus at Chowmuhini and an autorickshaw at Kadamtali in the morning after some motor vehicles appeared on the street. In Rangpur, the hartal passed off peacefully. Government offices functioned normally while presence in educational institutions was very thin and the financial institutions were open with limited transactions. In Gaibandha, at least 16 pro-hartal pickets, including a Chhatra League leader were injured during a clash that erupted when the hartal-supporters halted Lalmoni Express and Padmarag Express in the morning. The opposition activists also barricaded a local train on the Bonarpara-Shantahar route for two and half an hour during the hartal. Our Sylhet Correspondent Reports: Hartal was observed peacefully in the city. All kind of traffic movement in Sylhet remained suspended. Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran led a motor-cycle procession chanting slogans in favour of the hartal. Police arrested six Chhatra League activists and seized a motor-cycle from the procession. AL leaders in the rally strongly condemned the heinous attack in which Kibria and four others were killed. Our Khulna Office adds: The hartal in Khulna was marked by sporadic violence yesterday. Separate processions were organised by AL, Chhatra League, Juba League and Chhatra Union. A public rally was held at the City AL office in the afternoon protesting against the Habiganj attack. A gayabana janaja was held after the rally for Kibria and four others. Our Barisal Correspondent adds: Partial hartal was observed amid clashes, chase and counter chase, ransacking of vehicles and injury to 11 picketers in Barisal Tempos were ransacked and arrested pro-hartal picketers were snatched from police in the city and outskirts. S M Masud and Maksud Hossain, two BCL activists and Humayun Kabir, ex-UP chairman and AL leader were arrested. But pro-hartal activists snatched them. Long distance buses and plane services failed to operate. Post offices, banks and financial institutions operated under close-door. But river transports, rickshaws, inner city and short distance road transports operated normally during the hartal period. Our Noakhali Corresponded reports: Hartal was observed in the district almost peacefully. Some ten pro-hartal activists were injured in a clash with Police and BNP activists. © Copyright 2003 by ittefaq.com |
