Eid days of hapless people go untouched in Rajshahi
He usually rushes to the city from Malanchi in Natore by train at dawn for earning his livelihood by pulling a rickshaw on rent and he could hardly manage a square meal for his family on the day by Tk 175 he earned on the day before.
“I couldn’t go for work in the city as all transports were off the road on the Eid day. I went to my home with Tk 150 on the second day. But today, I counted so far only Tk 40, Tk 5 more than the rent of the rickshaw.”
The 28-year-old unmarried Arif, who has to look after his parents, broke down in tears when asked about his Eid. He said he could not manage new dresses for none of his family members, as he could not work for some 15 days before the holy festival due to his illness.
The situation was different even two or three years ago when he used to pull a rickshaw van at Natore alongside tilling a small piece of their land. He was forced to rush to the city for earning extra money following price hike of essentials.
Arif was not the lone hero of this harrowing tale. Roaming around the city, this correspondent found a plenty of examples of poverty-stricken food-insecure people like Soleman, Shahid, Kamal and Babul who were out of the charm of Eid festivity.
They were from in and around the city and from distant northern districts. The spectre of their poverty was stemmed from the rise of cost of living and fresh spike in essential prices.
Crises of job and food have overshadowed Eid celebration of the underprivileged hundreds, many of whom are still flocking to the city for either doing jobs or begging alms.
During this period, the poor people of the northern region usually suffer from monga, a near-famine situation, following lack of agricultural work and food sufficiency.
The situation is likely to persist till the harvest in December, said the government officials, adding that the situation has, however, improved a bit following various government measures.
Day labourer Kamruzzaman of Baya managed to buy new clothing for his one son among the two during the festival.
“I bought him a shirt with Tk 220 and a sandal at Tk 130 and sent the other son to his grandmother’s house for his clothing We (the couple) did not buy anything for ourselves I hope we would do it in the next Eid when there will be enough work at croplands.”
“Eid was great even three years before when I was able to afford new clothing for all of my five-member family But I could not even manage a dainty dish, let alone clothing this year. I have never passed any Eid like this time without having meat,” 55-year-old day labourer Moser Mondol described his plight in the way.
“I bought some sugar and milk for cooking semai (vermicelli) borrowing money from a neighbour My neighbour also gave me his old punjabi and lungi to say Eid prayers,” said Moser of Panchabati area.
Soleman, an octogenarian, came to visit his eldest son’s house at Panchabati from Ramjibanpur at Puthia upazila in the morning and was returning home in the noon. “There is none but Allah to look after us. I came to visit my son and I am returning now as he is not able to give me anything.”
This correspondent met Shiplu, a firewood trader on the Padma river dam at Sashanghat point. He was passing idly sitting on a bamboo-mancha. He was careless about sharing his Eid experience.
“I bought new clothing for my two minor sisters, but could not buy for myself or my parents. I went to markets thrice for buying clothing for us, but returned witnessing the exorbitant prices.”
Halima, wife of a rickshaw puller, was lamenting on the Padma dam as the rickshaw of her husband, who was suffering from fever for last 20 days, was stolen on the Eid day, saying, “We starved on the day as my husband was unable to earn.”
10 Hizb ut-Tahrir men freed
They were arrested in Rajshahi on suspicion of their involvement in militancy and inciting anti-state activities.
The release came after police submitted before a court a discharge report. Based on the report, the Rajshahi District and Sessions Judge’s Court earlier that day granted them bail. Hizb ut-Tahrir had threatened of waging a movement to oust the government.
In the discharge report, police said nothing was found to sue the Tahrir men. Police only two weeks ago told the media that they would launch an investigation and would seek green signal from the government high-ups to bringing sedition charges against them.
A number of Hizb ut-Tahrir activists, many of whom went to Rajshahi from the capital, greeted the freed people at the jail gate around 8:00pm.
“They were freed as we received the court order to release them,” said Harun-ur Rashid, Senior Jail Superintendent of Rajshahi. “Necessary papers (for their release) reached in time at the jail but procedures took some time,” he said about the delayed release of the arrestees.
On Tuesday, police submitted the discharge report with a court ending the investigation, said Ramjan Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Boalia Police Station. “No ground or evidence was found for filing any regular case against them,” he said quoting the report.
“There was no influence as we investigated the matter and found no reason to go further,” said the OC replying to a question.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Coordinator and Dhaka University teacher Syed Golam Mowla and Ahmed Jamal Iqbal, teacher of South East University and a senior member of the Islamist group, were arrested along with eight others on September 18 before a scheduled press conference in Rajshahi.
Invoking Section-54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), police showed them arrested on suspicion of using religious sentiment to foment anti-state activities and having involvement in militancy. Police had seized many leaflets and booklets carrying anti-state statements.
A court later sent them to jail rejecting their bail petitions. The accused appealed to the District and Sessions Judge’s Court after the lower court rejected their bail petitions. They were finally granted bail on September 30.
Protesting the arrests on September 19, Hizb ut-Tahrir Chief Coordinator Mohiuddin Ahmed in Dhaka threatened a movement to oust the government. He said, “The Hizb ut-Tahrir will stomp the city streets and no one will be able to live in peace on the soil of Bangladesh if our leaders are not freed within 48 hours.”
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner Mahbub Mohsin earlier told The Daily Star that the arrest of Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders was not surprising. “We had been looking for the organisation’s leaders and activists in connection with distributing leaflets at Baro Masjid,” he said.
The Hizb ut-Tahrir men distributed leaflets in front of the Baro Masjid in Rajshahi on September 9.
“The language of the leaflet and activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir were objectionable and are clearly anti-state as the contents of their leaflets distributed are provocative and call for militancy and toppling the government,” the OC had said earlier.
The leaflet reads, “Our rulers have discarded the Quran and Sunnah… They have handed us over to our enemies. In this holy month of Ramadan we have to take oath to dethrone our rulers and establish the rule of Khilafat.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir also criticises sending forces in the United Nations peace keeping missions for protecting “enemies” instead of “turning them into the flag bearers of Islam”.
Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders freed
Hundreds of HT activists, who drove to Rajshahi from the capital as news on their getting bail came through, greeted them as they came out of the Jail gate at 8pm.
The release came as they posted bail from the Rajshahi District and Sessions Judge’s Court earlier in the day.
The Hizb ut-Tahrir high-ups were detained at Rajshahi City Press Club on September 18, before a scheduled press conference there.
Invoking Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), police showed them arrested on suspicion of using religious sentiments to foment anti-government activities and having involvement in militancy.
A metropolitan magistrate court later in the day rejected their bail petitions as police said investigation into the allegations were still going on.
The accused appealed to the district and sessions judge’s court after the lower court again rejected their bail petitions the following day.
They posted bail yesterday in the morning and were freed after paperwork reached jail authorities in the evening.
End/
Eid fails to touch monga-hit
The poverty due to crises of job and food have overshadowed Eid celebration of the underprivileged hundreds, many of whom are flocking to shopping centres at district and upazila headquarters for begging alms.
During this period, the poor people usually suffer from monga, a near- famine situation, following lack of agricultural work and food shortage.
The situation is likely to persist till the harvest in December, said the government officials, adding that the situation has however improved a bit following various government measurers.
“The main buyers at Eid markets in northern region are the villagers. So the traders are also facing dull markets in their absence. Most farmers and day labourers are still in severe hardships,” said Mustafijur Rahman, a businessman.
“The markets are crowded, but the business is still low as the potential buyers are yet to come,” said Rabiul Hasan, an owner of garment shop at RDA market.
The situation has aggravated following unaffordable prices of daily essentials.
“Many of those who live at villages, especially on the shoals and banks the Padma, depend on khud (broken rice), arum and available vegetables as only foodstuffs,” said Abul Kalam Azad, a union council member of Khidirpur shoal.
Miraj Hossain, a farmer of Talanda union under Tanore upazila, said he had sold his goat to buy a dress for his eight-year-old daughter.
Rajshahi Hizb ut-Tahrir men denied bail
The Court of Rajshahi Metropolitan Magistrate BM Tarikul Kabir denied the bail prayers after police claimed that investigation was still going on against the accused.
The arrestees were not produced before the court and only their prayers were sent to the court. They are detained under section 54 of the CrPC.
“We also said verification of their previous criminal records, if any, is yet to be completed in police stations concerned,” said Court Inspector Mahbubul Kuddus Siddiki.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Coordinator and Dhaka University teacher Syed Golam Mowla and Ahmed Jamal Iqbal, teacher of South East University and a senior member of the Islamist group, were arrested along with eight others on September 18 in Rajshahi.
However, police did not lodge any case against them, as of filing of this report last night, as they reportedly did not receive the go-ahead from government high-ups.
Officials of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) said they are yet to get any signal from the government high-ups about bringing sedition charge against the arrestees.
They said the arrestees were engaged in anti-state activities and provoking people against the country and the government through leaflets which called for toppling the government and establishing Khelafat in the country.
Ramjan Ali, officer-in-charge of Boalia Police Station, told The Daily Star, “The investigation is on. We will submit remand prayers against the arrestees when the investigation demands.”
Tahrir Leaders’ Arrest Not ‘Surprise’; Govt probing militant links for sometime
Sources in the law enforcement agencies yesterday said the arrests were not unexpected and that the agencies were looking for Tahrir men after a few of them distributed leaflets at Baro Masjid in Rajshahi around 10 days before the arrests.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner Mahbub Mohsin yesterday said the arrest of Tahrir leaders on Thursday was not surprising. “We had been looking for the organisation’s leaders and activists for distributing leaflets at Baro Masjid,” he told The Daily Star.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh as a militant organisation and kept it under watch for quite a long time although it is not officially declared a militant outfit, said a top official of a law enforcement agency in Dhaka.
Meanwhile, The Daily Star yesterday received a fax dated September 18 sent in the name of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) that apparently acknowledged Hizb ut-Tahrir as its ‘front organisation’ and asked the government and all law enforcement agencies to refrain from harassing its leaders and activists.
The message also reiterates Tahrir Chief Coordinator Mahiuddin Ahmed’s demand for releasing the 10 arrested leaders and activists within 48 hours and threatened that otherwise “Bangladesh will be stained with the blood of law enforcers and all the advisers”.
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir has been campaigning in the country for several years by distributing leaflets and putting up posters, its activities came to the notice of law enforcers after the grenade attack on the then British high commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury at Hazrat Shah Jalal Shrine in Sylhet on May 21, 2004.
Tahrir men had put up anti-British and anti-US posters around the shrine two days before the attack, which made investigators suspect that the attack was carried out by Hizb ut-Tahrir. And since then the outfit has been alleged to have militant links at home and abroad, said a law enforcement official involved in the probe into the attack.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad yesterday told the media that Hizb ut-Tahrir’s activities in Rajshahi are suspicious and that they are investigating the outfit’s objectives and activities. He said they are cautious not to let similar incidents take place elsewhere.
“The leaflets distributed in Rajshahi contain objectionable statements against the state and the government. We are investigating the line of their activities,” the IGP said.
Another law enforcement agency source said Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh was on the list of suspected militant organisations prepared by intelligence agencies, including police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), when JMB started militant activities openly.
Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, who led the investigation into JMB’s militant activities and massive terror attacks, told The Daily Star yesterday that many statements of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh are similar to those of the JMB.
“We are yet to trace any terrorist activity by Hizb ut-Tahrir. Its activities are being watched,” Gulzar said.
Boalia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ramzan Ali, who was tasked with investigating activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir after Thursday’s arrest, said over phone, “I am investigating if the 10 arrested leaders and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir are involved with militancy.”
He said on September 9, Tahrir men distributed leaflets in front of the Baro Masjid in Rajshahi after Esha prayers. “The language of the leaflet was objectionable. Since Hizb ut-Tahrir’s name was on the leaflets, we were looking for their activists,” he added.
The leaflet reads, “Our rulers have discarded the Quran and Sunnah…They have handed us over to our enemies. In this holy month of Ramadan, we have to take oath to dethrone our rulers and establish the rule of Khilafat.”
Hizbut ut-Tahrir also criticises sending of forces in United Nations Peace Keeping missions for protecting “enemies” instead of “turning them into the flag bearers of Islam”.
A law enforcement agency source said Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh sought permission from an intelligence agency in Rajshahi on Wednesday for holding a press conference at Rajshahi City Press Club on Thursday but did not get the permission.
The police arrested the 10 Tahrir men when they attempted to hold the press conference without prior permission.
Editorial: The Hizbut Tahrir issue
The teachers arrested in Rajshahi the other day were carted off to prison because they happened to be distributing leaflets propagating the overthrow of the government. As if that were not enough, some other leading members of the outfit in the capital have now threatened to wage a movement and not allow anyone in Bangladesh to live in peace if the arrested teachers are not released in forty-eight hours.
The attitude smacks of intolerance and contradicts the outfit’s claim that it does not believe in violence or force. Obviously, it is a situation that calls for tough handling, given the fact that threats are undermining the fundamental constitutional and political premise upon which the country functions.
The members of Hizbut Tahrir, which has been at work in Bangladesh since 2001, have of course claimed no links with terrorism or terrorist organisations. And yet the reality is that the outfit has been proscribed in a number of countries in the West as well as the Middle East. The question, therefore, is why?
Whatever be their goal, there is little for it to justify its publicly stated goal of overthrowing the government or any government based on democratic political principles. The organisation’s chief coordinator has contemptuously rejected democracy. That attitude in itself is symptomatic of the potential for disorder. The unfortunate part of the story is that successive governments in Bangladesh have, in spite of the facts before them, always chosen to soft-pedal on the issue. The approach has been as mystifying as it has been disquieting. Hizbut Tahrir followers can be found holding responsible positions in such reputed bodies as private universities. Just how the organisation has managed to acquire such space leaves one wondering.
We believe that it is now extremely important for the government to deal with the problem, firmly and without losing time. There can be no denying that the contents of the statements and leaflets coming from Hizbut Tahrir are a frontal assault on the constitutional process and democracy. It is values — those symbolised by the ideals of free speech, tolerance, equality, et al — that are now under threat. If we are opposed to military coups or any other types of intervention in democracy, we are equally opposed to democracy being threatened with destruction in the name of our religion. Only firmness on the part of the government and an increased sense of awareness among citizens about the lurking danger can prevent this country from sliding into despotism.
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