Hefazat wanted another Shapla Chattar: DB

Through coordinated massive vandalism across the country in the name of protesting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in March, Hefazat–e–Islam wanted to wreak havoc like it did in 2013 at Shapla Chattar in the capital.

Leaders and activists of the so-called non-political organisation have successfully broken down the unity of Tabligh Jamat, one of the biggest Islamic organisations in the world, after infiltrating the organisation at first in the guise of supporters, and then finally taking control of it.

Mahbubur Rahman, joint commissioner of the detective branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), made the allegations while talking to reporters at his Mintu Road office in the capital on Monday.

Claiming that the recently arrested top Hefazat leaders disclosed this information during interrogation in remand, he said, "We are trying to bring out more related information regarding their plans and activities centring the mayhem created in different regions of the country, including Brahmanbaria, and Hathazari in Chattogram in March."

Mahbub said, "Hefazat leaders tried to convince their activists that Muslims won Battle of Badr in Ramadan. Inspiring activists and supporters exploiting religious sentiments, Hefazat leaders had a target of toppling the government during the month of Ramadan, instigating its activists to violent demonstrations and arson attacks across the country. They wanted another Shapla Chattar in the name of saving Islam."

He said they were interrogating top Hefazat's leaders in remand who planned to topple the government.

"To fulfill their motive of capturing state power, Hefazat leaders used innocent madrasa students during the recent vandalism, especially in Brahmanbaria, and Hathazari in Chattogram," the DB official said, adding that the arrested Hefazat leaders Mamunul Haque, the joint secretary general of Hefazat's recently defunct central committee, and Maulana Junaid Al Habib, president of Hefazat's Dhaka city unit, jointly coordinated and executed the vandalism and arson during the anti-Modi movement.

"Many financers donate money to run madrasas, but Hefazat leaders use it to fulfill the purpose of the organisation. They even used madrasa money to execute their vandalism plan as well as other anti-government activities," he added.

Informing that Hefazat broke down Tabligh Jamat's long-practiced unity by using Hefazat's control over a faction of Tabligh, the police official claimed they (Hefazat) had a target of capturing all the non-political Islamic organizations in the country.

A Chattogram court on Monday put Hefazat-e-Islam leader Harun Izhar on nine days remand in three cases filed with Hathazari police station.

Justice Helal Uddin of the Chattogram Senior Judicial Magistrate Court granted the remand in response to a plea submitted by police, court inspector Md Humayun Kabir of Chattogram district police, told the media.

"Hathazari Police sought a total of 21 days remand, seven days for each case, to interrogate Harun Izhar in three cases filed in 2021 and 2020 on charges of vandalism and setting fire to government offices. The court granted a three-day remand for each case," he said.

Harun Izhar's lawyer, Nezam Uddin Nizam, claimed that Harun Izhar was not involved in these incidents.

Harun Izhar, the immediate past educational and cultural secretary of Hefazat, was detained by RAB-7 from Lalkhanbazar Madrasa in Chattogram city at about 12:30am on April 29. Later, he was handed over to Hathazari police and they showed him arrested in those three cases.