Lax hartal passes off peacefully

An eight-hour nationwide hartal enforced by Islami Chhatra Sena, the Islamic Front Bangladesh’s student affiliate, was observed lackadaisically and peacefully on Sunday. Chhatra Sena activists took out several pro-hartal processions, including one from the North Gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque in the city’s Paltan area around 8:30am. Police stopped the procession near the Paltan Intersection. Earlier, a procession was taken out from in front of Chhatra Sena’s Fakirapool office early in the morning. Police also stopped two other pro-hartal processions – about 50-60 people in each group – at Manik Mian Avenue and Agargaon Intersection around 6:30am and 7am respectively. The supporters were heading towards Paltan area on foot. No untoward incident was reported from any parts of the country and vehicular movement was almost normal during the 6am to 2pm shutdown. Chhatra Sena called the shutdown for today demanding the arrest and punishment of the killers of Islamic Front leader Maulana Nurul Islam Farooqi, according to UNB.