Radical Islamic outfit strikes horror in Bangladesh, 18 killed

Dhaka: At least 18 people, including three security personnel, were killed and over 50 injured as marauding members of a radical Islamic outfit demanding a tougher blasphemy law in Bangladesh clashed with police near the capital city, prompting a ban on public rallies. The newly-floated Hefazat-e-Islam or `Protectorate of Islam` enforced its "Dhaka siege" programme yesterday to mount pressure on the secular Awami League-led government to implement their 13-point demand, including the enactment of a blasphemy law to punish those who insult Islam and its Prophet. Police and paramilitary troops overnight dispersed a huge demonstration by 70,000 Islamists in the capital. Police confirmed that two of their men and a soldier of paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were killed in the clashes last night and early today. The security personnel were beaten to death, Dhaka Medical College Hospital sources told The Daily Star. The situation prompted the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to enforce a ban on public rallies in the city fearing that violence could spread further. Radical Islamic cleric Ahmed Shafi, who is behind the violent protest and the chief of Hefazat, was today sent back to his hometown Chittagong, a top police official told a news agency. Shafi, in his 80s, is a former student of India`s Darul Uloom Deoband. Doctors at the major state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital said 18 bodies were kept at their morgue but unconfirmed reports quoted the toll to be as high as 22, saying several of them were taken to private facilities. PTI