3 arrested, 3 police injured.
Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Islami Chhatra Shibir clashed with police at Paltan area Thursday afternoon protesting the detention of former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.
According to primary information received from Paltan Police Station, at least three policemen were injured. Nothing could be known about the injury of the protesters.
“After the incident, we picked up three of them (protesters) in Motijheel for attacking police and vandalising our vehicle,” Ashrafuzzaman, assistant commissioner of Detective Branch of police, told The Daily Star.
The protesters brought out a procession in Paltan area around 5:00pm. As police intercepted it, they threw brickbats on the law enforcers and torched a police van.
Police lobbed tear gas and charged baton to disperse the protesters.
Ghulam Azam was sent to jail Wednesday on charges of committing crimes against humanity and peace, genocide and war crimes during Bangladesh’s Liberation War 40 years ago.
The International Crimes Tribunal, rejecting his petition for bail, ordered sending Azam, who stands accused on 62 specific charges, to Dhaka Central Jail.
After the court order Wednesday, members of Jamaat and ICS brought out processions in the capital's Motijheel, Purana Paltan and Ramna areas. Police foiled their demonstrations and detained 17 of them.
Pro-Jamaat lawyers demonstrated on the Supreme Court premises after the tribunal passed the order while Shibir activists brought out processions in different parts of Chittagong city the same day.
According to history, Jamaat under Ghulam Azam's leadership opposed the country's independence during the Liberation War and cooperated with the Pakistani occupation army in committing heinous crimes.
Although Ghulam Azam stepped down from the highest post [ameer] of his party over a decade ago, his followers still consider him as the supreme spiritual leader.
