At least four people were killed in Bangladesh’s Chittagong on Friday after police fired rubber bullets at protesters during a demonstration against the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a police official said.
“We had to fire teargas and rubber bullets to disperse them as they entered a police station and carried out extensive vandalism,” Rafiqul Islam, the police official told Reuters, referring to protesters
Protests against PM Modi’s visit also flared in the capital Dhaka, where dozens of people, including two journalists, were injured in clashes with police, witnesses said.
Modi is on a two-day trip to the country to take part in the golden jubilee celebration of Bangladesh’s independence and the birth centenary of its first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Three of the deceased were identified as Robiul Islam and Mirazul Islam – both students of Hathazari Madrasa – and the other was Mohammad Jamil, a passerby, Assistant Sub-inspector (police outpost) at Chittagong Medical College Hospital Mohammad Alauddin told the newspaper. “Eight people were brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds and among them four succumbed to their injuries,” he added.
Hefazat spokesman Mir Idris told AFP that 5,000 supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam took part in the protests against PM Modi’s visit and police action.
Meanwhile, violence also erupted at Bangladesh’s largest mosque in Dhaka where citizens and police clashed. While the protesters reportedly pelted the police with stones and bricks, the cops fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells.
Addressing the National Day event in Dhaka, PM Modi said, “I would like to remind my brothers and sisters in Bangladesh with pride of being involved in the struggle for independence of Bangladesh was one of the first movements of my life.”
PM Modi also handed over the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughters on Friday, saying “It is a matter of pride for Indians that we got the opportunity to honour Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with Gandhi Peace Prize.”
Earlier in the day, PM Modi had attended an event at the National Martyrs’ Memorial and the National Day programme in Dhaka, commemorating 50 years of the country’s liberation.
