The Jamaat-e-Islami has called a 36-hour general strike from Saturday morning in eight districts of Rajshahi Division in protest against the killing of one of its leaders in an alleged shootout.

The publicity department of the party’s Rajshahi city unit in a media statement on Wednesday evening said the shutdown would be enforced from Saturday 6am to Sunday 6pm.

Nurul Islam Shaheen, a leader of the party’s Ward 30 unit, died in an “encounter” with police at Binodpur’s Nalkhola Ashrafer Morh late on Tuesday night.

Police had recovered arms, ammunition and handmade bombs from the spot.

The deceased was a teacher at Binodpur’s Islamia College.

Though police claimed he was secretary of the party’s Ward 30 chapter, Jamaat’s city unit and Islami Chhatra Shibir of Rajshahi University in separate statements said Shaheen was an activist of Jamaat and a former president of Shibir’s Ward 30 unit.

Rajshahi Police Commissioner Md Samsuddin said 11 cases, including one over killing of a policeman, had been registered against Shaheen.

Claiming that Shaheen was killed after he was picked up, the Jamaat demanded an “exemplary punishment” for the “erring police personnel.”

QH