Zubayer followers block highway in protest

Followers of Maulana Zubayer have blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in protest after a clash with Maulana Saad Kandhalvi followers erupted early on Wednesday at the Ijtema ground in Tongi. 

Zubayer followers sat on the highway and blocked traffic at around 10am on Wednesday. 

Protesters claim that Saad followers attacked and drove away Zubayer followers from the Ijtema grounds. They will continue the blockade till Zubayer followers gain back control of the grounds. 

In the clash that started at around 3am on Wednesday, three people have died so far. Around a hundred more have been injured, Tongi Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital Emergency Room Senior Brother Hafizul Islam confirmed. 

Two deceased were identified as Bacchu Maih, 70, of Kishoreganj's Pakundia, and Belal, 60, of Dhaka's Dakkhinkhan. The other deceased man remains unidentified. 

More injured people are arriving at the hospital, he said. 

Tongi West Police Station Officer in Charge Iskandar Habibur Rahman said the situation is now calm. Followers of Saad are now in control of the Ijtema grounds. 

The government has deployed four platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Tongi to maintain law and order and prevent violence in Tongi.