.webp)
Two men were killed and at least 50 people sustained injuries in the clash between police and a section of Muslim devotees demanding the closure of a Qadiani Salana Jalsa in Panchagarh town on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Arifur Rahman, 30, son of Farman Ali, resident of Masjidpara area of the district, and engineer Jahid Hasan, 22, resident of Banpara municipality of Natore district.
Panchagarh district Police Superintendent SM Sirazul Huda and Panchagarh Municipality councilor Mazedur Rahman Chowdhury confirmed the deaths.
At least 30 houses and several shops were vandalised during the clash.
Meanwhile, 17 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members have been deployed in the area to control the situation, said Public Relation Officer (PRO)of the BGB Headquarter Md Shariful Islam.
Medical officer of Panchagarh Modern Sadar Hospital Dr Rahimul Islam said, “18 injured men are now under treatment in this hospital, 27 people were released after first aid, and two of them were transferred to Rangpur Medical College.”
On Friday afternoon, police fired more than a hundred rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse the stone-throwing protesters, witnesses said.
Some journalists covering the violence were among the injured.
After the Jummah prayers, devotees gathered from some mosques in Panchagarh municipality area and started a protest march. Then they went to Panchagarh town staging a demonstration there. At one point they marched towards the Qadianis Jalsa in the Ahmed Nagar area.
As police stopped the procession at Panchagarh Chowrangi intersection, the protesters became angry and started throwing brickbats at the police in the city’s cinema hall road area.
Police had to move back at one point due to the protest procession. At least 30 people were injured. Shops in Panchagarh town closed as the violence spread panic among the people.
The angry mob also looted around 20 houses of the Qadianis located in Ahmednagar.
Media workers were also unable to go anywhere as the police and angry devotees were stationed at different points.
Meanwhile, BGB and RAB joined the police to control the situation. Panchagarh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Latif Miah said, the situation is still tense.
Tension over the Jalsa, between the groups, has been going on for a long time in the area, he added.
Some Islamic groups in Bangladesh consider Qadianis, also known as Ahmadiyyahs, as non-muslims and want a ban on the sect’s activities.
