Violence broke out on Wednesday at a rally organised by Bangladesh’s youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP) in the southern town of Gopalganj, leaving four people dead and several others injured, according to local media reports.
Deadly student-led protests forced long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India in August last year, and since then, there have been delays over promised reforms, growing protests and political division.
Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took over as interim head, said in a post on X that members of the NCP, police and media were attacked during a peaceful rally on Wednesday, with cars vandalised and individuals assaulted.
“Preventing young citizens from peacefully holding a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their revolutionary movement is a shameful violation of their fundamental rights,” he said, blaming Hasina’s political party, the Awami League and its student group for Wednesday’s violence.
BBC News Bangla reported that four people were killed, while the local daily Prothom Alo said nine were injured.
Police and hospital officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Authorities imposed a curfew.
The Awami League said on Facebook that one of its members had been killed by army gunfire.
Section 144 Imposed
Gopalganj descended into chaos on Wednesday afternoon as violent clashes broke out shortly after a rally by the youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP), prompting authorities to impose Section 144 in the area.
According to an executive magistrate, the order was issued by Gopalganj Deputy Commissioner Md Kamruzzaman to prevent further unrest.
The violence began moments after the NCP concluded its rally, part of its ongoing “July March to Build the Nation” campaign, which has been drawing attention across multiple districts since the beginning of the month.
Tuesday’s announcement on the party’s official Facebook page had promoted the event as “16 July: March to Gopalganj.”
Local media and eyewitnesses reported that a group of armed individuals, allegedly affiliated with the ruling Awami League, surrounded vehicles carrying NCP leaders and activists.
Armed with sticks and clubs, the attackers encircled both the NCP convoy and accompanying police vehicles, launching an assault that turned the area into a virtual battlefield.
In response, police and army personnel deployed to the scene fired sound grenades and blank rounds in an attempt to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Some NCP members were able to escape the violence by turning their vehicles around and taking alternate routes.
NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari blamed Awami League supporters for orchestrating the attack and accused both police and army personnel of initially standing by without intervening.
The incident has further intensified the political climate in Bangladesh, already fraught with growing dissent and delays in promised reforms following last year’s ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina.
(With inputs from Reuters and IBNS)
