Gopalganj: At least four people have been killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of Bangladesh's ousted former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday, officials said. The clashes erupted around midday and continued for more than five hours in Gopalganj, Hasina's ancestral home town, as her supporters attempted to prevent a rally organized by the National Citizen Party (NCP), a newly formed political party led by students who spearheaded last year's uprising that ousted Hasina in August. The scene is 100 kilometres south-west of the capital Dhaka.
According to Ghana News Agency, Abu Sayeed Faruk, the district's chief medical officer, reported that four people were killed and 13 others were wounded in the clashes. In response to the violence, authorities imposed a 22-hour curfew in the district starting at 8 pm on Wednesday to prevent further unrest.
Witnesses described a group of over 300 people attacking the stage set up in a local park for the NCP rally around noon. Police intervened, allowing NCP leaders, who had launched a month-long campaign to garner support on the first anniversary of the uprising, to proceed with the rally. As the rally concluded, another group of protesters, allegedly affiliated with Hasina's Awami League party and its front organizations, attempted to attack the NCP leaders' convoy as they were leaving, according to eyewitness accounts.
Police and armed forces members took the NCP leaders to safety, leading to clashes with the protesters. Hasina has been exiled in India since she fled the country in the face of mass uprising on August 5, 2024. Her Awami League party was banned by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in May this year.
