Google Alert – Bangladesh Army
A fifth murder case has been registered over the violence surrounding a National Citizen Party (NCP) rally in Gopalganj that left five people dead and scores injured.
Ramzan Munshi, a 32-year-old battery-run autorickshaw driver, died in Dhaka on Jul 17 after being shot during the clashes.
His brother, Jamal Munshi, filed the case on Saturday, naming unidentified attackers, according to Gopalganj Sadar Police Station chief Mir Mohammad Sajedur Rahman.
With this, the total number of cases linked to the unrest stands at 12.
Police say 10,137 people have been accused across the cases — 687 by name, mostly affiliated with the Awami League and its associate bodies. The rest are unnamed.
By Saturday, 314 people had been arrested.
Clashes broke out on Jul 16 during a planned rally by the NCP. Protesters and counter-protesters clashed in multiple areas of the town. Police and Army personnel were deployed. Clashes followed
Four people died that day. They were identified as Dipto Saha, 30, Ramzan Kazi, 17, Sohel Rana, 35, and Imon Talukdar, 17.
At least nine people were shot. Dozens more were injured.
Ramzan Munshi was among the most critically hurt.
‘DIED ON WAY HOME FOR LUNCH’
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Ramzan was not part of the rally. He had parked his autorickshaw at a garage and started walking home for lunch at 3:35pm.
He reached the Launch Ghat area where several thousand of people — carrying sticks, machetes, and locally-made weapons — were marching toward the NCP’s rally site at the municipal park, shouting “Joy Bangla.”
They began vandalising shops and later set fire to a police outpost nearby.
Joint security forces tried to push them back. But the crowd turned violent, attacking the forces instead.
The joint team retaliated.
Ramzan, caught in the chaos, took shelter at the local fruit market. Gunfire broke out.
Though he later moved toward Chourangi Cinema Hall for safety, he was shot in the right side of his chest at 4:20pm. He collapsed on the street.
Local residents rushed him to the 250-bed Gopalganj General Hospital. His condition deteriorated quickly.
That night, he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
He died there at 1:45am on Jul 17. His body was returned home after a post-mortem examination.
Ramzan was buried the same night at Gate Para municipal graveyard.
BGB TROOPS PULL OUT
The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), which had been deployed during the clashes, has now been withdrawn from the town.
On Saturday morning, BGB personnel departed for Jashore.
BREAKDOWN OF OTHER CASES
Police had earlier filed four separate murder cases over the deaths on Jul 16, naming 5,400 unknown suspects.
Other charges include two cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act, one for the attack on the district jail, and several under the Special Powers Act.
Of the remaining cases, two were filed in Kashiani, one in Kotalipara, and another in Tungipara.