Hefazat under pressure

Highlights

• PBI finds involvement of 43 Hefazat leaders in Ahmed Shafi's 'murder' case
• Police, RAB arrest five leaders including Hefazat's organising secretary
• Govt to pay extreme price if it considers Hefazat weak: Babungari

Hefazat-e-Islam has been under pressure after the recent arrest of several of its leaders in cases filed over recent attack on law enforcers and vandalism across the country.

Meanwhile, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Monday submitted its investigation report in the case filed over the death of Hefazat-e-Islam ameer Shah Ahmad Shafi, accusing 43 persons including the organisation's incumbent ameer Junaid Babunagari.

Police and members of Rapid Action Battalion arrested five leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam, including Azizul Haque Islamabadi, central organising secretary of the organisation, from Jurain in the capital in connection with the attack and vandalism.

Inspector Md Monir Hossain of PBI Chattogram district, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the investigation report to the general recording department concerned, said sources. Among the 43 accused, 31 are named and 12 others' involvement was found in investigation. 

Banaj Kumar Majumder, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police and chief of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), confirmed the news to The Business Standard.

The PBI submitted its report to the court of Chattogram Chief Judicial Magistrate on Monday afternoon, he said.

The accused 43 persons are: Hefazat ameer Junaid Babunagari, joint secretary Nasir Uddin Munir, organizing secretary Azizul Hoque Islamabadi, publicity secretary Jakaria Noman Foyezi, Hefazat leaders Mir Edris, Habib Ullah, Ahsan Ullah, Abdul Matin, Md Shahidullah, Md Rizwan Arman, Hasanuzzaman, Enamul Hasan Faruquee, Mir Sajed, Jafar Ahmad, Mir Jiauddin, Ahmad, Mahmud, Asad Ullah, Zobaer Mahmud, HM Junaed, Anwar Shah, Ahmad Kamal, Kamrul Islam Kashemi, Mohammad Hasan, Obaidullah Obaid, Jubair Mohammad, Aminul Hoque, Rafiq Sohel, Mobinul Hoque, Naim, Hafez Sayem Ullah, Alam, Shibbir Ahmad, Abu Sayed, Hossain Ahmad, Towhid, Arfan, Mamun, Aminul Islam, Masudur Rahman, Jahangir Alam and Nur Mohammad. 

They were accused in the section 143/448/427/323/342/341/117/304/506/34 of penal code, said sources. 

Hefazat's joint secretary Mamunul Hoque and four other named accused were acquitted from the case, said sources.  

Mohammad Mainuddin, brother-in-law of Hefazat-e-Islam ameer Shah Ahmad Shafi, filed the murder case with the court of Judicial Magistrate Court of Shiblu Kumar Dey on December 17, 2020. 

Mohammad Mainuddin, in his complaint, accused 36 named persons including Hefazat leader Mamunul Hoque, Nasir Uddin Munir, Azizul Hoque Islamabadi, Mir Edris, Habib Ullah and Jakaria Noman Foyezi and 80-90 unnamed ones.

Meanwhile, five leaders of the organization were arrested from Dhaka and Chattogram during the last 24 hours. The arrestees are Azizul Hoque Islamabadi, Maulana Iqbal, Maulana Mohiuddin, Maulana Shahjahan Shibli and Maulana Moazzem.

A Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka on Monday granted a seven-day remand for Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh organising secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi for interrogation in police custody.

The Metropolitan police joint commissioner (detective branch) Mahabub Alam confirmed to TBS that Azizul was arrested in connection with five cases including a case lodged in 2013.

Family members of Azizul claimed that he was reportedly missing since Sunday.

If the government thinks that Hefazat is weak, it will have to pay extreme price, said Allama Junaid Babungari, Amir of Hifazat-e-Islam and Director of Education of Hathazari Madrasa, in a statement sent to the media on Monday afternoon.

In the statement, he demanded unconditional release of the arrested Hefazat leaders and activists including Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi.

Babungari said, "A few days ago, the police indiscriminately shot and killed the leaders and activists of Hefazat. Even after this, false cases are being filed against our leaders and activists in different parts of the country. If the government thinks that Hefazat is weak, they will have to pay extreme price."