Dhaka, Saturday, August 28, 2004 Siege to Ahmadiya HQ foiled STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Amra Dhakabashi, a platform of anti-Ahmadiya bigots, failed to implement its pre-scheduled programme of capturing the Ahmadiya headquarters in the city on Friday, as the police arrested four of their top leaders on Thursday on the one hand and resistance put up by a civil society group on the other.
We are happy about the security measures that the government has taken to protect us, Nasir Ahmed, spokesman of the Ahmadiya community, told New Age Friday. But we are still not out of danger as a group of Sunni Muslims has expressed fresh determination to lay siege to our headquarters.
The civil society group, comprising people like Professor Kabir Chowdhury, left leaders Rashed Khan Menon, Khalequzzaman and Ajoy Roy, cultural activist Hayat Mamud and Asaduzzaman Noor, went to the Ahmadiya headquarters in the Baksibazra area of the city at 12.30pm. They stayed there until 3.00pm.
The Lalbagh police picked up four leaders of Amra Dhakabashi president of the organisation Shamsul Huq, general secretary Jamal Nasser Chowdhury, organising secretary Abdul Kader and a member of the organisation Maulana Sarafat Thursday morning.
The police produced them before the court on Friday. They were arrested after they had refused to withdraw the siege programme.
Besides, four platoons of the police were deployed in and around the Ahmadiya headquarters.
A member of Amra Dhakabashi told New Age that they were ready to sacrifice their lives to offer the juma prayers in the Ahmadiya headquarters and replace its signboard. We will soon announce fresh programme.
Amra Dhakabashi announced the capture programme in March and held regular meetings with leaders of other Islamist outfits in different parts of the city.
A group of Sunni Muslims attacked the Ahmadiya headquarters from a procession at Lalbagh Shahi mosque after the juma prayers, on August 20, but the police chased them away.
Source: http://www.newagebd.com/2004/aug/28/front.html#4
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