Dhaka, Oct 31: At least two people were killed and dozens injured in sporadic clashes in Bangladesh on the first day of a three-day transport blockade called by the opposition BNP to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee general elections early next year.
The paramilitary troops were deployed to guard highways and maintain law and order in major cities while armed police and other law enforcement agencies enforced a countrywide vigil.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) protestors clashed with police, torched and stoned vehicles, including ambulances, and tried to disrupt traffic by placing burning tyres on highways or regional roads, police said.
Police confirmed the deaths of two BNP activists in Kishoreganj while three policemen were critically injured in suburban Narayanganj in clashes with the protestors.
BNP leaders in Kishoreganj said that two party workers were “shot dead by police” during a rally. One of them died on the spot while another succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, they said, adding that the clashes left over 100 activists injured.
In Dhaka, the protestors set on fire several buses and clashed with police and supporters of the ruling Awami League. Most transport operators suspended inter-district services. The traffic was thin in the national capital and other cities though the railways and ferry services were operational throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hasina in a press conference called BNP a “terrorist” organisation and ruled out talks with the opposition party led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia. She warned the opposition of the consequences if they continued the blockade.
At least four people, including a policeman, were killed over the weekend in Dhaka and elsewhere during violent protests by the opposition supporters.
The violence forced the BNP to abruptly end their rally. The party and its far-right ally Jamaat-e-Islami called a nationwide general strike on Sunday.
Dozens of BNP leaders and activists including the party’s secretary general or de facto leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were arrested for “instigating” violence or on charges like sabotage.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over political violence in Bangladesh. “We obviously are concerned,” UN chief’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric quoted Guterres as saying on Sunday. He said it was important that “there be calm and respect for all people’s freedom to express themselves in advance of the elections” also stressing the need to “respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.
Condoling the deaths of those killed in the violence over the weekend, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, UK and the US called on all stakeholders to work together to “create conditions for free, fair, participatory, and peaceful elections”. (PTI)
