Dhaka , Bangladesh ( CNN ) -- At least 37 people died in rioting across Bangladesh after the leader of the country 's largest Islamist party was sentenced to death on decades-old allegations of war crimes . Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami movement battled with police in several cities after 73-year-old Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to hang by a war crimes tribunal . The two-time member of parliament was convicted of eight of 20 counts involving killings and rapes during Bangladesh 's war of independence in 1971 . During that war , between 1 million and 3 million people were killed , and hundreds of thousands of women were raped . In 2010 , Bangladesh set up a court called the International Crimes Tribunal to finally bring to justice those it accused in the massacre . Sayedee is the third of seven Jamaat party leaders to be charged with war crimes and the second to be sentenced to death . Tens of thousands of people , including many of those who fought for the country more than 40 years ago , celebrated the judgment against Sayedee . But furious Jamaat supporters rioted in Dhaka and other cities after the decision , leaving at least four police officers among the dead , police and other officials said . Police around the country fired gunshots and tear gas shells to disperse the mobs , who also exploded a series of homemade bombs . Most of the people were killed in the districts of Rangpur , Gaibandha , Satkhira , Thakurgaon and Chittagong . At least two of the police officers were beaten to death in the streets , while a bomb killed a pedestrian in Dhaka , authorities said . Monirul Islam , a Dhaka police spokesman , said two grenades were found near Shahbag Square , where thousands of people were celebrating the court verdict . The grenades , which were later defused , were found abandoned on the pavement near the five-star hotel Ruposhi Bangla , he said . Home Affairs Minister Shamsul Haque told reporters that the government has stepped up security nationwide . Paramilitary troopers have been called in to patrol the troublesome cities , and the government has imposed ban on rallies and gatherings in some districts . Since early February , widespread rallies have sprung in Dhaka 's Shahbag intersection , with protesters calling for justice against war criminals and rejecting fundamentalism in politics . But Jamaat has called the Shahbag participants `` anti-Islamic atheists . '' Increasingly , the Islamists are letting their presence known with larger and larger rallies and strikes first in cities outside Dhaka and then in the capital city . Violence has been reported with police firing shots and tear-gas to disperse mobs . Jamaat-e-Islami called a nationwide general strike Thursday to protest the trial , which it called `` politically motivated . Physically separated by India , Bangladesh had been the eastern part of Pakistan until it gained independence in 1971 in a war . Jamaat-e-Islami opposed East Pakistan 's struggle for independence and has decried what it calls a smear campaign against it . CNN 's Elizabeth Yuan contributed to this report .
It claimed dozens of victims after an Islamist leader 's death sentence . Delwar Ali Sayedee was convicted of war crimes dating back to 1971 . His political party says the allegations are part of a smear campaign .