500 injured in B’desh violence, cases against 500 Hefazat members

By Sumi Khan Dhaka, March 29 : At least 500 people were injured as violence swept Bangladesh amid a nationwide dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by Islamist groups Hefazat-e-Islam and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami on Sunday, officials said.
An official of the Ministry of Home Affairs said at least 500 innocent people injured by the militants’ attacks, while a case accusing 500 Hefazat members of violence was filed on Sunday evening, but no one has been arrested yet, Abu Bakar Siddique, officer in charge of Paltan Police station, told IANS.
The shutdown was enforced by Hefazat-e-Islam in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, Kishoreganj, Norshingdi, Narayanganj, Brahman Baria, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi and other districts.
Narayanganj Madaninagar Madrasha students blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong highway by burning tires from Sanarpar to Shimrail crossing in the morning, disrupting road communications to Chittagong and Sylhet.
In Sylhet, Jaamat members, moving under the Hefazat banner, brought out processions in different parts and several crude bombs were also exploded. Four people were arrested, but police declined to comment.
Due to the countrywide strike, no buses left Sylhet bus stand since the morning, while Hefazat activists, sporting sharp weapons, bamboo staffs and iron rods, obstructed traffic at every entrance point.