The government on Thursday extended the curfew in Gopalganj for an indefinite period and formed a three-member committee to investigate Wednesday鈥檚 violence and deaths over the National Citizen Party rally in the district town.
The members of the law enforcement agencies arrested 25 people between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon for their suspected involvement in the violence.
The government said that four people were killed and over 50 others were injured in a series of clashes between the members of the security forces and the activists of the Awami League in Gopalganj town.
The Inter Services Public Relation Directorate in a statement on Thursday said that the Bangladesh Army was compelled to use force at one point in self-defence in Gopalganj on Wednesday as attackers threw a huge sum of crude bombs and brick bats at them.
The interim government on May 12 banned all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated, allied, and like-minded organisations until the completion of the trials at the International Crimes Tribunal.
The home ministry in a release on Thursday said that the curfew in Gopalganj was extended and would continue from 6:00pm on Thursday to 11:00am on Friday.
The curfew will be relaxed for three hours from 11:00am on Friday and will be in effect there until further notice from 2:00pm on Friday. 聽
Talking to reporters at the secretariat in Dhaka, home adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that the intelligence agencies had information about the possibility of violence in Gopalganj but failed to assume that the violence would take such a large turn.
He claimed that the situation in Gopalganj was now normal.
A statement shared by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing on Thursday said that home affairs senior secretary Nasimul Ghani would lead the three-member probe committee formed by the government.
Two additional secretaries, one from the Ministry of Public Administration and another from the Ministry of Law and Justice, are members of the committee, the statement said.
This committee has been mandated to conduct a thorough inquiry and submit its findings to the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office within two weeks.
The ISPR鈥檚 Thursday press release said that the army was compelled to use force at one point in self-defence in Gopalganj as attackers threw a huge sum of crude bombs and brick bats at them though the army tried to contain the attackers by making announcements several times using the public announcement system.
The ISPR, however, did not mention what kind of force they used in Wednesday鈥檚 clash in Gopalganj town.
鈥楾he Army, Border Guard Bangladesh and the police jointly dispersed the agitators. Sheltered individuals at the Gopalganj district Superintendent of Police were shifted to Khulna with the help of the Bangladesh Army,鈥� said the ISPR release.
ISPR said that the Army, BGB, police, Rapid Action Battalion and other organisations of the administration had been coordinating to enforce the curfew in Gopalganj to keep the district鈥檚 overall security situation normal.
Rights group Ain O Salish Kendra in a statement on Thursday expressed deep concern over the death of four people in a clash between members of the law enforcement agencies and political activists.
ASK thinks that such use of force, including opening fire, was a threat to the country鈥檚 democratic environment, the value of human rights, and citizens鈥� security.聽
Despite efforts by the police and army to calm the crowd, the attackers began throwing stones and bricks and assaulted members of the police, Army, and NCP using sharp and blunt weapons, said a police report shared by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing.
鈥楾he attackers also attacked government establishments, including Gopalganj District Jail. Four individuals were killed and over 50 people, including 45 police officers and constables, and several journalists were injured,鈥� the statement said.
At about 7:30pm on Wednesday, a group of unruly people took away the bodies of the deceased from the Gopalganj District Hospital. They prevented doctors from carrying out post-mortem examinations of the bodies, said the CA press wing.
鈥楾o date, joint forces and police have arrested 20 individuals suspected of involvement in the violence. To restore order, 1,507 police personnel along with Army troops and Border Guard Bangladesh members have been deployed across Gopalganj,鈥� the statement said.
On Thursday, people鈥檚 movement in the Gopalganj area was thin and traders mostly kept their shops closed due to the tense situation in the area.
Gopalganj district superintendent of police Md Mizanur Rahman said that the process for filing a case was underway.
鈥楯oint forces arrested 20 people in connection with the violence,鈥� he said.
In the Wednesday violence in Gopalganj, a police vehicle was torched, upazila nirbahi officer was attacked, cocktails exploded, brick bats were thrown, and NCP鈥檚 rally venue and the motorcade were attacked in the town.
The police fired rubber bullets, hurled sound grenades and lobbed tear gas shells and the members of the Bangladesh Army opened fire in the air to disperse Awami League activists and to save the NCP leaders.