Hefazat leaders take U-turn, get Covid jabs

Hefazat-e-Islam chief Junaid Babunagari and several other leaders of the party have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Babunagari received the vaccine on Sunday to allay the fears of Islamic scholars in the country, according to a media statement issued by the hardline Islamist group.

Hathazari Upazila Health Officer Imtiaz Hossain said Babunagari was registered for the vaccine on July 14 and received Sinopharm’s vaccine on Sunday.

He took the vaccine while in the car to avert the rush at the vaccination centre.

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Earlier, in a press conference on April 11, Babunagari claimed Covid-19 would not spread at madrasas, and demanded that madrasas be allowed to operate during lockdown.

Meanwhile, another Hefazat leader, former head of Narayanganj District unit Maulana Abdul Awal, received his vaccine on Monday.

On Monday, Maulana Awal mentioned in a Facebook post that he had received the vaccine at the temporary vaccination centre of ward No 18 in Narayanganj at 10:10am.

Asked why he taken the vaccine after opposing it for so long, Maulana Awal claimed some people had been making false, fabricated and conspiratorial statements about him deliberately.

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He said: "I told people to be cautious when receiving the vaccine.”

District Awami League President Abdul Hye had been demanding the arrest of Maulana Awal for speaking against the vaccination program.

“He gave speeches against the Covid-19 vaccine on several occasions during the Friday sermons. He has distracted people through such statements, and now he has taken the vaccine. It shows that he has no confidence in his own words. 

“Maulana Awal earlier instigated violence during Hefazat’s demonstrations. He has still been making anti-government statements. I demand his arrest,” said Abdul Hye.