Panchagarh, Mar 03: A section of Muslim devotees on Friday clashed with police demanding the closure of a Qadiani Salana Jalsa in Panchagarh town, leaving at least 30 people injured and several shops and houses vandalised.
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.
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.
Meanwhile, BGB and RAB joined the police to control the situation. At the time of filing this report at 5:39pm, angry mobs blocked the roads at various points.
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
