Annoyed by violence, Hefazat’s central leader announces resignation

Abdul Awal, a nayeb-e-ameer of Hefazat-e-Islam, has reportedly announced to resign from his position out of annoyance over the violence carried out by his party men in the recent days.

He, also chief of Hefazat's Narayanganj unit, made the announcement while delivering a sermon at a mosque in the DIT industrial area of Narayanganj city on Monday night. 

A video clip of the sermon went viral and is making the rounds on social media platforms, drawing widespread discussions.  

The Hefazat leader could not be reached over phone. But his khadem (personal assistant), Mahadi Hasan, confirmed that Awal had announced resignation and there was no pressure upon him.

Meantime, Mufti Muhammad Abdul Mumin, publicity secretary of the Islamist party, told The Business Standard that it was not an official resignation.

"Probably, the nayeb-e ameer wanted to leave the organization because of some misunderstanding. He might have some issues with the local leaders. However, the viral video clip is authentic," he said.

Protesting against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh trip, activists of Hefazat-e-Islam staged mass demonstrations in Dhaka, Brahmanbaria, and Chattogram.

Being obstructed by the law enforcement agencies, they carried out extensive vandalism at and set fire to government establishments. They clashed with the law enforcement agencies in Brahmanbaria and Chattogram.

As their protest went berserk, Police opened fire on them to keep the situation under control in the two districts.

At least 14 people died during the clashes with the law enforcers.