Bangladesh launches crackdown against hardline Hefazat-e-Islam, arrests 100 of its leaders, supporters
Apr 19, 2021
Dhaka [Bangladesh], April 19 : Over 100 leaders of the hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam and its activists have been arrested following last month violence and vandalism across Bangladesh.
On Sunday, the group's joint secretary, Mamunul Haque, was arrested at a madrasa (Islamic seminary) in Dhaka's Mohammadpur neighbourhood, senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police official Harunur Rashid said.
Since April 11, eight central leaders have been arrested in different cases, Dhaka Tribune reported.
The arrests were made over deadly protests against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month for the country's golden jubilee celebrations of independence.
The protests across several districts in Bangladesh were mostly led by the Hefazat-e-Islam group.
At least 13 Hefazat supporters died in police firing during the days-long demonstrations as they attacked a police station and other government buildings, and blocked highways elsewhere in the country.
In the capital Dhaka, they clashed with police outside the country's main Baitul Mukarram National Mosque during the visit.
An umbrella platform for ulema (religious scholars), Hefazat-e-Islam was established in 2010 in Chittagong ostensibly to defend Islam from ruling Awami League's allegedly anti-Islamic policies, especially a proposed policy to confer equal inheritance rights to women.
