Tension flared between BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami supporters over the imam of the Saratala Central Jame Mosque in Fatepur union of Jhenaidah’s Mahespur upazila, and at the height of the dispute worshippers from the two sides prayed separately, at the same time, under two different imams. Calm was later restored when both sides reached a settlement through police mediation. The incidents took place at Asr and Maghrib prayers on Thursday (16 July) and at Fajr on Friday (17 July).
According to police, the dispute arose over demands to remove or retain the current imam: one side wanted a new imam appointed, while the other insisted the current imam stay. At one point a group of worshippers prayed inside the mosque under the current imam while another group prayed on the mosque veranda under the new imam at the same time, spreading tension in the area and raising fears of a clash. Fatepur union BNP general secretary Selim Reza said one side had created an unnecessary controversy around the current imam, Mosharraf Hossain, in an attempt to install a new imam, and that the dispute was settled through discussion in the presence of police. Repeated attempts to reach the Fatepur union Jamaat leader for comment were unsuccessful.
Mosque management committee president Anwar Hossain said that, with the administration’s intervention, both sides had agreed to keep the current imam in place until a new mosque committee is formed. Mahespur police OC Mehedi Hasan said a settlement had been reached after talks with both sides, that the situation was now normal, and that police surveillance in the area was continuing.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report