The followers of two khatibs of Baitul Mukarram, the current and former khatibs, clashed at the mosque on Friday, leaving several people injured.
Witnesses said that the current Khatib, mufti Waliur Rahman Khan, was delivering a sermon before jumma prayers when the former khatib, mufti Ruhul Amin, along with his followers arrived at the mosque and attempted to take the microphone.
This led to a confrontation between the followers of khatib Waliur and Ruhul, resulting in physical assault that left several people聽 injured.
At one point, the followers of both sides took positions on the ground floor of the mosque, where the imam offers prayers.
At that time, they were throwing various objects, including shoes and boxes of shoes from the mosque, at each other and carried out vandalism inside the mosque.
Many worshippers were disturbed by the chaos, prompting some to leave the mosque during the clash between the two groups.
After about half an hour, former Khatib mufti Ruhul Amin along with his followers left the mosque amid protest.
Later, with the help of law enforcers, when the atmosphere calmed down, people again entered the mosque to offer the prayers.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for Motijheel Division Shahriar Ali said that there was a problem with the new and old khatibs inside the mosque, but members of the law enforcement agency rushed to the spot.
As worshippers were leaving the mosque, a group began chanting anti-Awami League slogans. The worshippers began gathering on the street in front of the mosque, but they were later dispersed by the army, police, and Rapid Action Battalion personnel.
The return of khatib Ruhul Amin, who had fled after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, sparked the situation.
