15 Jamaat-Shibir men sent to jail on surrender

A court here on Monday sent 15 Jamaat-Shibir men to jail, rejecting their bail prayers in a case for attacking Hindus in Chirirbandar upazila of the district in 2012.

The accused are Joynal Abedin, 40, Motiar Rahman, 45, Shahdat Hossain, 48, Momtaz Ali, 45, Momdel Hossain, 40, Khoyrat Ali, 38, Abdul Jabbar, 52, Md Rubel, 24, Abdur Rahim, 28, Habibur Rahman, 25, Hasan Ali, 27, Md Hiruzzaman, 26, Md Shahiduzzaman, 25, Md Liton Mia, 25, and Khokon Haque, 27.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ahsanul Haque passed the order when they surrendered to his court in the afternoon, said Abu Syed, court inspector.

Bolaibazar, a Hindu dominated area of Chirirbandar upazila in the district, came under attack by Jamaat-Shibir men on August 4 in 2012.

During the incident, the attackers assaulted the Hindus of the area, torched their houses, looted valuables and cattle. Around 600 people took part in the attack.

They also left 50 people injured and vandalised 35 houses. Later, a case was filed in this connection.

Police recently submitted a charge sheet against 92 people including Jamaat-Shibir men of the upazila in connection with the case.

Many accused are on bail while others yet to be arrested, said Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Chirirbandar Police Station.

Away in Bhola, police arrested 35 leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir with petrol bombs from Nayanbari area in Lalmohon upazila of the district yesterday, reports UNB.

District unit Jamaat ameer Mostafa Kamal and Lalmohon upazila Shibir president Abdullah Al Mamnu were also among the arrestees.

Informed that some Jamaat-Shibir men were holding a secret meeting at the house of Nurullah at Nayanbari in the morning, a police team raided the house and arrested the 35 people, said Assistant Superintendent of Police M Rafiqul Islam.

The law enforcers also seized seven petrol bombs and a number of books on jihad from the spot.

They were arrested on charge of planning subversive activities in the area, said the ASP.