- By Mayukh Debnath
- Sun, 29 Oct 2023 08:06 AM (IST)
- Source:REUTERS
One police officer was killed in violence that erupted in Dhaka in the middle of a protest by the main opposition party of Bangladesh on Saturday. Clashes erupted during Bangladesh Nationalist Party's mega demonstration calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tens of thousands of BNP supporters had gathered in the Bangladeshi capital to demand free and fare elections under a caretaker government. Many people were also injured in the clashes that ensued. General polls in Bangladesh are scheduled to be held in January.
(Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wave party flag during a rally at Naya Paltan area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 28, 2023. Pic credits: Reuters)
Tear gas and rubber bullets were fired by the police at BNP supporters participating in the protest. According to the police and media reports, the violence saw dozens of vehicles, including police vans and ambulances, being set ablaze.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruq Hossain told reporters one officer had been killed and 41 others were injured in clashes with protesters. Several journalists were attacked and injured while trying to cover the clashes, media reports said.
A BNP worker, identified as Shamim Mollah, who was attending the protest, also died after the outbreak of the clashes. While Mollah's party has claimed that he sustained injuries in police firing, police officials have contested the claim and said that Mollah succumbed to a heart attack, news agency ANI reported.
Central Police Hospital Director Deputy Inspector General of Police Rezaul Haider said that there was no sign of injury on his body.
Security was tightened in the city in recent days as thousands of people arrived to attend the rally. Hundreds of opposition party activists have been arrested, BNP leaders said.
"Today's rally continued for hours in a perfectly disciplined and peaceful manner until all of a sudden the lobbing of tear gas shells started," senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan told Reuters. "The intensity increased and violent attacks with sounds of blasts and shootings turned the whole place into a war zone," he added.
The BNP has called for a dawn-to-dusk countrywide strike in protest against the police action. "I came to protest the enforced disappearances, murders, and oppression that we have suffered for the past 15 years. This government is not safe anymore for even a second," BNP supporter Arif Khan said.
The US has condemned the political violence said that it will be "reviewing all violent incidents for possible visa restrictions." It called for calm and restraint on all sides.
Hasina, who has maintained tight control since coming to power in 2009, has been accused of authoritarianism, human rights violations, cracking down on free speech and suppressing dissent while jailing her critics. Her government is under pressure from the Western countries to hold "free and fair" elections.
In May, Washington said it would impose visa sanctions on Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic process at home, after accusations of vote-rigging and suppressing the opposition marred elections in 2014 and 2018. Hasina's government has denied the charges.
(With inputs from Reuters)