The five-day Jor Ijtema has begun at the Biswa Ijtema ground in Tongi, Gazipur, with two devotees dying within the first day of the congregation.
The first death occurred early on Friday at around 4:30am. The victim, Md Nur Alam, 80, from Noakhali Sadar, had arrived at the Ijtema ground the previous night. Organisers said he passed away in his sleep. His funeral prayer was held at the Ijtema venue after Jummah.
Later during Friday’s Jummah prayer, another participant, Chan Mia, 60, collapsed after suffering a stroke. He was from Bagarpara in Sarishabari, Jamalpur, and had been living in Narayanganj’s Raghunathpur area for work. Companions rushed him to the adjacent medical facility, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Both deaths were confirmed by Habibullah Raihan, media coordinator of the Shura-e-Nizam faction of Tabligh Jamaat Bangladesh (Jobayer group), which is organising the congregation.
The five-day Jor Ijtema, held annually around 40 days before the Bishwa Ijtema, began after Fajr on Friday on the banks of the Turag. The programme serves as a preparatory gathering where members and chillah participants from home and abroad review their yearly activities and receive guidance from senior leaders.
Members of the Shura-e-Nizam group have been arriving since Thursday night, with the main activities centred around the tin-roofed mosque on the north-eastern side of the ground.
Tongi West Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Md Harun-or-Rashid earlier said the event will run until 2 December, with additional police deployed to ensure security and smooth movement.
The death toll at this year’s Jor Ijtema now stands at two.
