A clash broke out between the law enforcers and activists and leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Chhatra Shibir in the capital's Malibagh as they tried to bring out a procession after Juma prayers, police said.
Several people, including police personnel and Jamaat-Shibir men sustained injuries during the clash. The law enforcers detained several Jamaat-Shibir men over the incident, according to UNB.
A police officer said the Jamaat-e-Islami sought permission from the police to bring out a mass procession from the north gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque as part of the simultaneous movement of the opposition parties and alliances to unseat the current government. "But the party was denied permission."
"The Jamaat men tried to hold a mass procession without police permission in Malibagh. A clash ensued as police had asked the Jamaat men not to go through with the procession, but they had paid no heed to the law enforcers," Shahen Shah Mahmud, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Division), said.
"The Jamaat-Shibir men hurled bricks at police. The law enforcers then fired tear gas to disperse them and bring the situation under control," he added. "Later, some people were detained from the spot and brought to the concerned police station."
The BNP and other opposition parties and alliances observed December 30 as a "Black Day," marking the anniversary of the 11th parliamentary election held on this day in 2018.
They held mass procession programmes in the capital today to push for their 10-point demand, including the resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament, transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker government and formation of a new election commission.