Dhaka: Protests spread across Dhaka on Tuesday, as demonstrators demanded a proper investigation to bring justice to the victims of Monday's deadly plane accident. The death toll from the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training jet into a school in the capital has risen to 31, most of whom were pupils, officials said on Tuesday.
According to Ghana News Agency, protests began near the crash site when two senior advisers from the interim administration arrived early in the morning. Several hundred pupils demanded a thorough investigation and an accurate death count. The protesters chanted slogans such as 'We want justice' and 'Why did our brothers die? We demand answers!' effectively trapping the advisers and several senior officials inside the school building.
The protesters allege that authorities attempted to conceal the true number of casualties, a claim the government has dismissed as false. The demonstrations were joined by college students, protesting a last-minute decision to postpone Tuesday's scheduled school leaving exams due to the crash. They called for the removal of senior education ministry officials following the 3 am announcement.
Police responded with baton charges, tear gas, and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, after several hundred protesters breached the main gate of the Bangladesh Secretariat, the central administrative hub, in downtown Dhaka. More than 50 people were injured in the clashes, which lasted over two hours, according to police officer Masud Alam.
Air Force Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmud Khan urged the public not to pay attention to rumours regarding the death toll from the jet crash. He said a high-level investigation committee has been formed to determine how the crash occurred. 'We will take measures based on the investigation's findings,' he told reporters in Dhaka after the funeral parade for the pilot of the fighter jet. Commenting on the protests at the crash site, Khan said, 'It is unfortunate that unrest erupted there. We have nothing to hide; from whom should we hide? It was an accident.'
