3 killed in Noakhali

Two alleged members of Hezbut Tawheed, an Islamist group, and a local were killed and over 150 others, including several policemen, injured in a clash between villagers and the Hezbut men over building a mosque for the Islamist group in Sonaimuri upazila yesterday.

The Hezbut activists are Ibrahim Khan Rubel, 27, son of Nurul Haque, and Mohammad Solaiman, 24, of Pourkara village, and local Mujibul Haque Mujib, 50, of Khodkhasta village.

Mujib was shot dead, while marks of stab were found on the bodies of the two other deceased, said police.

Elias Sharif, superintendent of police in Noakhali, said there had been a longstanding conflict between the Hezbut members and the villagers of Pourkara as they believed that the Hezbut men, followers of its founder Bayezid Khan Panni, was "propagating against Islam".

On 24 February, the Hezbut men held a public meeting near Chashirhat Union Parishad and made some "derogatory comments about Islam", which angered the villagers, said police. 

Around 11:00am yesterday, when the Hezbut activists had gathered Pourkara to resume the construction work of the mosque, which was abandoned several years ago following protests by locals, the villagers rushed to the spot and asked them to stop their work. This triggered an altercation between the Hezbut men and the locals. 

At one stage, locals, equipped with rods and sticks, swooped on the Hezbut men and a fierce fight took place between the two sides.

Talking to The Daily Star, Haniful Islam, officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri Police Station, said several thousand people were engaged in the clash.

Police opened fire to disperse the troublemakers. 

Hezbut Tawheed was blacklisted by the law enforcement agencies in 2009. Its activities are closely monitored, said officials of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Villagers vandalised the office of Hezbut Tawheed at Chashirhat Bazar and set fire to a house of a Hezbut supporter during the clash.

Police detained 110 people, mostly supporters of the Hezbut, in this connection.

The injured were admitted to different hospitals and clinics. 

The villagers tried to lay siege to Sonaimuri Police Station around 8:00pm as police did not hand over the detained Hezbut men to them. Police foiled their attempt by firing blank shots.

They also ransacked and torched several motorcycles and buses during the clash.

Villagers also blocked Noakhali-Dhaka highway in front of the police station. Police removed the barricade around 12:30am.

Additional police and members of Rab and BGB were deployed in the area to avoid any further trouble.

Moshiour Rahman, ameer of Hezbut Tawheed, alleged that local Jamaat and Hefajat men carried out the attack as they spoke against doing politics in the name of Islam.