Quran desecration: Protesters clash with police in Baitul Mukarram area

Several people were injured in a clash as Muslim devotees clashed with police in Baitul Mukarram National Mosque area in the capital after Jum’a prayers on Friday.
The trouble began as the devotees brought a procession in protest against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Cumilla.
Witnesses said a large number of devotees came out from the national mosque after the Jum’a prayers chanting slogans against desecration of the Holy Quran.

The procession marched through the Paltan crossing and Bijoynagar intersection, and the proceeded towards Kakrail Nightingale crossing.
As police tried to intercept the procession at the Nightingale crossing, they threw brickbats at the law enforcers.
Police also charged batons and lobbed teargas shells triggering a chase-and-counter-chase between the devotees and the cops.

As the clash spilled over to Bijoynagar crossing, police used watercannons and fired blank shots. They brought the situation under control around 2:10 pm.
Traffic on the roads in the areas came to a complete halt during the clash.
Contacted, Deputy Commissioner (Motijheel range) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Abdul Ahad said the law enforcers charged batons and fired teargas shells to control the situation as the devotees threw brickbats at the law enforcers.
Earlier, security was beefed up surrounding the national mosque deploying members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and different intelligence agencies alongside the police to avert any untoward incident.