Dhaka: A Jamaat-e-Islami leader was killed during violent clashes with police in the capital city’s Mohakhali area on Sunday following a hartal call protesting date fixing for pronouncing verdict against the party’s former Ameer Ghulam Azam.

The victim was identified as Abu Ala Iqbal, 45, Ameer of Tejgaon Industrial area of Jamaat-e-Islami, confirmed Tejgaon Police Station officer-in-charge Apurbo Hassan on Sunday evening.

Witnesses said after the date fixing for pronouncement of verdict against former Jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam, Jamaat-Shibir activists took out a procession in the Tejgaon area and police detained Jamaat leader Iqbal chasing the processionists. They took him to a police box in the area and later released him. But at that time a group of machete wielding miscreants chopped him indiscriminately in front of police and police rescued him. But he died from profuse bleeding on his way to hospital in police custody in the area.

Witnesses alleged that instead of arresting the Jamaat leader, they handed him over to some miscreants for chopping indiscriminately leading to his death in police custody from profuse bleeding.

The Jamaat-Shibir activists also torched a police microbus, vandalized three vehicles and injured two policemen in the capital's Bijoynagar area during pre-hartal mayhem.

Police said they turned violent ahead of the scheduled verdict against Jamaat-e-Islami former Ameer Ghulam Azam on charge of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

The Jamaat called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Monday protesting the decision of International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to pronounce verdict against former Jamaat Ameer Ghulam Azam for his crimes against humanity he had committed during the War of Liberation in 1971.

Police and witnesses said a group of Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out procession in front of Kosturi Hotel in Bijoynagar area around 1.30pm after the first war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh fixed a date for delivering the verdict on former Jamaat chief.

Police said the demonstrators suddenly swooped on a police microbus with hockey sticks and injured officer-in-charge (investigation) Alamgir Bhuiyan, 40, and constable Mizanur Rahman of Paltan police station.

The Jamaat activists also torched the police microbus and vandalized three other vehicles.

Hospital sources said, the police constable was given first aid while the Paltan OC was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Ends/BB/AMA/14/07/13