Monday, April 22, 2013

Bangla on boil as Islamists rally against bloggers


Kolkata: Two people were killed as Bangladesh’s radical religious group Hefajat-e-Islam (HeI) activists clashed with anti-fundamentalist Shahbag protesters in Dhaka on Saturday.
    Bangladesh has been on the boil since the Shahbag movement started in February. There was high tension over the past few days over HeI’s mega rally to demand punishment for ‘blasphemous’ bloggers of the movement.
    To counter the HeI, 25 pro-Shahbag organizations called a nationwide shutdown. Shahbag activists swarmed the roads to challenge the HeI and the majority of private transport organizations supported the anti-fundamentalists and suspended their services. The resistance angered HeI and other outfits like Jamat-e-Islami and Islamic Chhatra Shibir, whose activists clashed with police and Awami League supporters in several parts of the country. The Brammhanberia railway station was ransacked.
    The slain included a ruling Awami League leader, who was killed in Faridpur. An anti-fundamentalist activist was killed in Dhaka. A large group of HeI activists gathered at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka to demand death for the ‘atheist’ bloggers.

No comments:

Post a Comment