From a rally at Motijheel on February 4 last year, the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, threatened to wage war against the government if its top leaders facing war crimes charges were convicted.

They also spoke against the trial procedure, describing it as politically motivated. Everything happened in front of the police. They were so furious that the tribunal later summoned three of the Jamaat leaders, including a former MP.

The following day was set for delivering the verdict in the Abdul Quader Molla case.

They also announced a shutdown for February 5, when the tribunal delivered a verdict against the first Jamaat leader. In January, the tribunal sentenced to death fugitive Abul Kalam Azad, alias Bachchu Razakar. But since he was an expelled leader of Jamaat, the party did not react.

On February 5 and afterwards, the Jamaat-Shibir men carried out attacks on the state properties, including rail tracks, the law enforcers, Awami League supporters, and the Hindus. They have not even spared the Shaheed Minars from their marauding spree to desecrate the symbols of our national unity and identity.

The attacks continued sporadically throughout March when the historic Shahbagh movement gained massive public support.

The attacks escalated when the tribunal on February 27 declared that it would deliver the verdict in the case of Delawar Hossain Sayedee the following day. Jamaat announced a hartal again and started attacks, quite systematically.

From 28 February through March 5, around 60 people were reportedly killed in different parts of the country, including general people without any political affiliation.

The destruction of the Palli Bidyut Samity office in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj alone caused the power sector a financial loss of approximately Tk200 crore. The railway sector was badly hit with a clear motive. A number of train wagons were burnt to ashes in Rajshahi and Dhaka, rail lines derailed, and station rooms were destroyed, causing financial loss to the tune of Tk8.5 crore, according to government estimates.

The Jamaat-Shibir men threw off an engineer to death from the roof of a Parjatan motel in Chapainawabganj; brutally attacked an elderly Hindu man as he tried to resist their rampage and later succumbed to his injuries in Banshkali, Chittagong; killed a former Chhatra League leader by attacking him in a preplanned manner in a local garage in Sylhet; torched with petrol an auto-rickshaw carrying two fish traders who suffered serious burn injuries in Netrokona; and mercilessly hacked to death many police personnel in Gaibandha, Bogra and elsewhere.

They continued to attack houses, temples, and prayer premises of the Hindus. In most instances, as in Bogra, Joypurhat, Sirajganj, Noakhali or Chittagong, the attacks were launched in a preplanned manner, and on occasions, violent Jamaat-Shibir processions suddenly veered towards predominantly Hindu neighbourhoods and launched indiscriminate attacks against them.

In some parts of Chittagong, Feni and Bogra, they incited violence by disseminating the absurd image of Sayedee being visible on the moon.

They used women and children as human shields to allow the cadres carrying out their rioting and vandalism under cover. It is contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the National Children Policy 2012 that prohibits the use of children in political and terrorist activities.

Until March 4, 2013, a total of 235 cases were lodged in connection with the violence in different parts of the country, and 1,572 people were arrested.

During the days of attacks, pro-Jamaat and pro-BNP newspapers and TV channels like the daily Sangram, the daily Amar Desh, the daily Naya Diganta, the daily Inqilab, and Diganta TV instigated the agitators publicly.

List of attacks, clashes prepared by the govt

February 28:

Gaibandha: Armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked Bamandanga Rail Station, torched three rooms of the station, and disrupted rail connection by removing rail slippers; torched Bamandanga Investigation Centre and brutally attacked four police constables with sharp weapons and sticks, and finally put them on fire to ensure death; also grievously injured three other constables who remain in critical condition; attacked Sundarganj police station. Later, police fired at the attackers in self-defense at the instruction of the executive magistrate; three miscreants were hit by bullets.

Chittagong: Unruly Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked police on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway under Lohagara in a pre-planned manner; torched a community center; grievously injured three police personnel; and took their arms, which were rescued later. They torched a fire service vehicle in Keranihaat in Satkania, caused damage to the vehicles of ASP Circle, RAB, and the police station, and the police took legally sanctioned action to bring the situation under control.

The attackers torched Banshkhali police station, the UNO Office, and vehicles and set alight valuable records and furniture in a pre-planned manner; torched shops and vehicles of local businesspeople and pharmaceutical companies as well as three or four houses; and created anarchy through violence and looting.

In Banshkali, the Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked a number of Shil households in the area and set the houses on fire; they attacked one Dayal Haridas, 65, as he tried to prevent the Jamaat-Shibir miscreants; he succumbed to his injuries in hospital while under treatment; the Jamaat-Shibir men vandalized and torched many shops and CNG garages belonging to some local Hindus and Buddhists, causing damage to properties to the tune of around Tk50 lakh; the Jamaat-Shibir activists torched religious temples and sites of the Hindus with the support of the BNP activists.

Jhenaidah: Unruly Jamaat-Shibir leaders and supporters, along with the BNP supporters, brought out armed processions and engaged in indiscriminate violence and vandalism in the Court Chandpur area. They attacked the on-duty OC of the police station and other police and Ansar members; 17 members of law enforcement agencies were seriously injured during the mayhem; six of them were admitted to Jessore Combined Military Hospital, from where they were shifted by helicopter to Dhaka’s CMH in further critical condition.

Chapainawabganj: Armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked the peaceful procession by general people welcoming the tribunal verdict of the day; attacked on-duty police with sticks, bricks, and weapons; and indiscriminately vandalized shops and commercial offices in the surrounding areas. As police failed to restrain the rioting mob through peaceful means, police fired at them, at the instruction of the executive magistrate, in self-defense and to protect public life and property; one person taking part in the riots got seriously injured and succumbed to his injuries while under treatment at the Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital.

Jamaat-Shibir cadres vandalized and torched the newly built Parjatan (Tourism) Motel in the area; an engineer by the name of Tauheedul Islam tried to save himself from the armed violence and mayhem by taking shelter on the roof of the motel; the Jamaat-Shibir cadres pushed him off the roof and killed him.

The Jamaat-Shibir cadres in Kansat, under Shibganj upazila, vandalized, looted, and torched the head office of the local Rural Electrification Association. They also vandalized the office’s housing complex and set the houses on fire, causing 48 families to be interned. The police rushed to the scene and managed to bring the situation under control. The damage to the office was estimated to be around Tk200 crore.

The Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists took out a violent procession the same day and, in a pre-planned manner, attacked the local residence of the state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources in Shibganj. The police and BGB lobbed tear gas shells and fired shotguns to disperse the unruly mob. The local people rallied in support of the police, resulting in a man named Abdur Rahim suffering severe injuries that led to his immediate death.

Satkhira: Unruly and armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres attack police and BGB personnel with bows and arrows, petrol bombs, and firearms; several police personnel and civilians are injured during the attacks; in self-defense, police and BGB fire at the mob to disperse them and bring the situation under control; four people get killed in this incident.

A violent Jamaat-Shibir procession vandalized and torched the house of a local student leader of Chhatra League named Mamun; they beat Mamun brutally and inhumanly and grievously injured him; Mamun succumbed to this injury on the way to being transported to the Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Natore: Jamaat-Shibir miscreants beat to death the Joint Secretary General of Union Jubo League, Md Khairul Islam, 35, in Lalpur.

Noakhali: Armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked and torched the house of one Pulak in Begumganj; they attacked the Begumganj Circle ASP, officer-in-charge, and other police personnel with local weapons and bricks; as the situation spiraled out of control, police were forced to fire at the mob to protect public life and property, protect government arms, and bring the situation under control.

Dhaka: Jamaat-Shibir miscreants carried out clandestine bomb attacks in Mirpur 1 to incite fear and chaos in the area, resulting in the immediate death of a man named Moslem Uddin.

March 1, 2013:

Gaibandha: Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked a bazar in Sundarganj with sticks, iron rods, spears, and other weapons and vandalized the shops. As the local people protest against their vandalism, the Jamaat-Shibir activists beat to death a man named Md Shariful Islam. They also attacked the Sundarganj UNO and police all of a sudden as they were moving towards Bamandanga to take control of law and order. The police fired blank shots to disperse the violent mob.

Joypurhat: After Jumma prayers, thousands of unruly Jamaat-Shibir cadres carried out vandalism, looting, and arson in the Hindu locality of Kashra Gobindapur under Panchbibi upazila; they torched and destroyed furniture in many Hindu households; when the police reached the spot led by the local UNO, the Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked them and damaged a police pickup van; police had to bring the situation under control by firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets.

Netrokona: Jamaat-Shibir cadres torch a Kali Mandir (Temple of Goddess Kali) in Purbadhala upazila.

March 2, 2012:

Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar: Hundreds of unruly and armed Jamaat-Shibir activists put up barricades on the roads between Kenanirhat and Chakaria around different bazaar areas and damaged vehicles plying on the road; they stopped traffic on the Chittagong-Bandarban-Cox’s Bazar road; they attacked the on-duty police as the latter tried to restrain them from violence and damage to vehicles; police had to lodge tear gas shells and fire shotguns to disperse the mob; three Jamaat-Shibir activists were killed during these incidents.

Nilphamari: Unruly Jamaat-Shibir activists obstructed a BGB patrol and attacked the law enforcement agencies all of a sudden; the law enforcers made every possible effort to disperse the mob without resorting to firing, but the mob got more aggressive and violent and grievously injured a BGB personnel named Momin Miah; BGB fired 10 rounds of fire to disperse the mob; a man named Atiqul Islam died of bullet wounds on the spot.

Pirojpur: Jamaat-Shibir and BNP activists brought out a procession and attacked a local Awami League office in Indurkani upazila.

Sylhet: Armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked former Chhatra League leader Jogot Jyoti Talukdar and two of his colleagues in a local workshop in Jalalabad in Sylhet town and killed him in a pre-planned manner by arriving on the scene on 10-12 motorcycles; the two colleagues, Jewel Ahmed and Joy Sen, were left behind on the spot with grievous wounds and in an unconscious state; police took them to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Feni: The District Jamaat brought out a procession and caused damage to a local market and bank offices and booths in Feni Sadar.

Rajshahi: An armed and violent Jamaat-Shibir procession vandalized shops in Boalia upazila; they hurled cocktail bombs and bricks at on-duty police; they vandalized the offices of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Dutch-Bangla Bank; many people, including police personnel and a Banglavision TV journalist, were seriously injured during the incident. Around 10pm, Jamaat-Shibir miscreants torched and turned to ashes three wagons of the Dhaka-Rajshahi intercity Silk City train waiting at the Rajshahi rail station.

March 3, 2013:

Satkhira: Armed Jamaat-Shibir cadres put barricades on the road by felling down trees and damaged some vehicles; the unruly mob hurled bricks and cocktail bombs at two BGB vehicles passing by and at one point attacked the vehicles; as the BGB vehicles moved towards Satkhira town, the Jamaat-Shibir cadres once again attacked the vehicles and seriously injured three BGB personnel; as the BGB fails to restrain the mob, they fire at them in self-defense and manage to disperse the crowd; a number of people in the mob got injured during the incident; among them, one Md Mahbubur Rahman, 33, later succumbed to his injuries.

Bogra: At 5:30am, Jamaat-Shibir cadres attacked, vandalized, and torched Phulbari and Upashohor police barracks in a pre-planned manner; police and fire service personnel from Bogra Sadar rushed to the spots and put down the fire; several vehicles, including two motorcycles and a seized truck, were burnt during the incidents.

Separate processions of Jamaat-Shibir cadres started moving towards the Satmatha area of Bogra town with sticks and sharp weapons; they tried to vandalize and torch the Sadar police station and the Gono Jagaran Manch (Mass Uprising Stage); they turned violent as police and RAB tried to restrain them and hurled bricks and cocktail bombs at them; the police and the RAB men lodged tear gas shells and resorted to baton charges to disperse the mob; the mob became more ferocious, and in self-defense and to protect public property, police and RAB fired shotguns and rifles; three miscreants were killed in the firing.

Another armed Jamaat-Shibir group vandalized and torched the house of district Awami League leader Momtajuddin; they also tried to attack the house of a local MP elected from the Sonatala-Sariakandi constituency; the police, RAB and BGB managed to disperse the mob.

On the same day, at 5:30am, a group of Jamaat-Shibir activists vandalized and torched the Awami League and freedom fighters’ office in Shahjahanpur and attempted to attack the police station by surrounding it; police lodged tear gas shells and rubber bullets and resorted to baton charge to disperse the mob; the mob turned more violent at this and attacked the police with sticks and local weapons and torched the police station and a police pick-up van; the officer-in-charge along with seven other police personnel were seriously injured; on-duty police fired from shotgun, pistol and rifle at the instruction of the UNO in self-defence and to bring the situation under control; four people are killed on the spot during the incident.

Around 5am, a group of hartal supporters brought out a procession on the highway under Shibganj upazila and all of a sudden attacked the Mokamtala police barrack and damaged a motorcycle there; the on-duty police lodged tear gas shells and resorted to baton charges and shotgun fire to protect themselves and public property; the mob turned more violent and started hurling cocktail bombs and bricks and firing at the police investigation centre; in self-defense, the police at the investigation center had to fire shotgun and rifle shots at the mob to disperse them; the situation came under control and two people were killed.

Around 4am, the hartal supporters attempted to attack the Nandigram police station with sticks, hammers, iron rods, bricks, kerosene, and petrol; due to the resistance put up by the police, they attacked the Upazila Parishad office and vandalized the office and government vehicles at the premises; police fired blank shots to disperse the miscreants.

Police managed to restrain the mob from torching the temples and houses of religious minorities; however, the mob managed to damage the local Awami League office and some other houses.

Sirajganj: At 4:30am, Jamaat-Shibir cadres brought out an armed procession in the municipal area in Belkuchi upazila in support of hartal; they burnt tires on the road and damaged vehicles; at one stage, the unruly mob vandalized the local Awami League office; the on-duty police lodged gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.

The Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked the local Awami League office in Enayetpur upazila at 6am, vandalizing the office records and furniture. At one point, they also attacked several Hindu temples and puja premises. Police rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control.

Jhenidah: At 11:15am, Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked police in front of the Harinakundu UNO Office and brutally killed police constable GM Omar Faruque with sharp weapons; they also grievously injured a number of police and Ansar personnel; later, an additional police force was dispatched from the district sadar under the leadership of the additional police superintendent to rescue the injured police personnel and brought the situation under control.

Rajshahi: At 9:45am, heavily armed Jamaat-Shibir activists put a barricade on the Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj highway with felled trees and burnt tires; they tried to attack the police and BGB personnel with firearms and sticks from both sides; one police inspector along with several police personnel got wounded; at one point, the police had to resort to firing in self-defense and protect public life and property; two people named Md Rafiqul Islam and Md Mojahid got killed in the incident.

Joypurhat: At 11am, a large group of unruly Jamaat-Shibir miscreants gathered around the Panchbibi police station and started damaging the adjacent Shaheed Minar; as police tried to prevent them from doing so, they turned even more violent and started throwing bricks and cocktail bombs at the police station and tried to set the station on fire by breaking open its gate; given the fast deteriorating situation, the on-duty police at the station had to resort to firing in self-defense and to maintain law and order and to safeguard the arms and ammunition at the police station; six people were killed in the incident and 25-26 people were injured.

Dhaka: Jamaat-Shibir cadres lodge a cocktail bomb near the Pan-Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the evening; the miscreants throw a cocktail bomb at the head office of Bangladesh Television and set two rail wagons on fire.

March 4, 2013:

Sirajganj: At 8am, a large number of Jamaat-Shibir activists damaged a bridge in Purba Delowa under Ullahpara upazila and took preparations to attack a local Hindu locality and a temple; they also fired at the Office-in-Charge of the Police Station as he arrived on the scene with his force; initially, the police lodged tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd; at this, the unruly mob further intensified their attack on the police; at one stage, the police were forced to fire at the mob to disperse it; later it was confirmed that one Mahfuz, 22, was killed by the Jamaat-Shibir miscreants during the attack.

Satkhira: At 11:35am, a large group of Jamaat-Shibir activists gather around the Sarashkati bazaar under Kolaroa upazila and indulge in destructive activities, having felled trees on the road; as the Kolaroa police rush to the spot to restrain them from their anarchic activities, they turn more violent and attack both police and later BGB; the BGB members resort to firing in self-defense and for the protection of public life and property; a number of Jamaat-Shibir miscreants are injured in the firing; among them, two succumb to their injuries later.

March 5, 2013:

Dhaka: In the metropolitan area, at the time of hartal, there were cocktail bomb explosions in Shantinagar, Jonaki Market and BNP Party office areas; there were also some stray incidents of damaging cars and torching buses, etc.; police rushed to every spot and brought the situation under control.

Netrokona: Around 9:45am, the hartal supporters hurled a petrol-filled bottle at an auto-rickshaw and set it on fire near Mechhua Bazaar; two fish traders inside the auto-rickshaw suffered serious burn injuries; they were later taken to Netrokona Modern Sadar Hospital.

Jessore: At 10:45am, Jamaat-Shibir and BNP activists bring out a procession together in support of hartal and obstruct vehicle movement near Chandipur Bazaar under Manirampur upazila; as they are resisted by Awami League activists, the two sides engage in a confrontation; two people are seriously injured in the incident and are taken to Jessore General Hospital for treatment; police bring the situation under control through swift intervention. At 11am, the hartal supporters attack an Awami League supporter named Russell, 25, and injure him with blows by machetes on different parts of his body;

Targeted attacks

On March 7, 2013, a Jubo League activist named Abdur Rahman was seriously injured in Golladanga Bazar in Bholarhaat in Chapainawabganj during an attack by the Jamaat-BNP cadres in the wake of a confrontation over keeping the shops open during hartal hours. Rahman later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

On March 9, police recovered the dead body of one Ahmed Miraj, a businessman, beside the rail line under the under-construction Kuril Flyover in Dhaka. It appeared that the deceased was suffocated to death. His family members suspect the involvement of the Jamaat-Shibir in the killing due to his elder brother Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul, a noted musician and composer, being the prosecution witness in the war crimes case against Ghulam Azam, a prominent Jamaat leader, on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.

On March 9, a police constable named Mofizul Islam was shot to death as he was taking part in a drive to arrest Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists involved in violent activities in Baira upazila in Khulna.

In the immediate aftermath of the Shahbagh uprising, they killed a blogger and one of the lead organizers of the movement, Ahmed Rajeeb Haider, near his home in Mirpur, Dhaka, while he was returning from Shahbagh on February 15. The five students arrested in connection with the murder admitted to the police that they had carried out the pre-planned and targeted killing at the instruction of a former student leader of the Islami Chhatra Shibir.