12 KILLED IN 3 DAYS PROTEST IN BANGLADESH OVER MODI’S VISIT

Mon 29 March 2021:

At least two protesters were killed and scores injured in fresh violence as Bangladesh’s hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam observed a nationwide strike on Sunday protesting against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country.

A total of 12 people have been killed in three days of unrest.

The protesters – mostly from the religious hardline group Hefazat-e-Islam – were angry at the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Bangladesh marked 50 years of independence, accusing him of stoking communal violence against Muslims in his country.

Five people died on Friday, and another six the next day, after police shot at demonstrators in several main districts across the Muslim-majority nation of 168 million people.

Two others – a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old – died in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria after officers opened fire in clashes in the rural town of Sarail on Sunday, a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Other groups – including students, leftists and other political outfits – also staged protests against Modi’s visit on Friday and Saturday.

Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called for the protests to be halted.

“Our security forces are observing this with patience,” Khan told reporters on Sunday. “We think if this is not stopped, we’ll take necessary actions.”

At another protest in Narayanganj just outside the capital Dhaka on Sunday, Hefazat supporters chanted “action, action, direct action” as they blocked the key highway linking Dhaka with the port city of Chittagong.

Hundreds of demonstrators burned furniture and tyres on the roads as they chanted anti-Modi slogans and called on authorities to investigate the earlier shootings.

Hefazat spokesman Jakaria Noman Foyezi told AFP thousands of its supporters joined demonstrations at its headquarters at Hathazari outside Chittagong, which is home to a top Muslim seminary.

Local media reported that Brahmanbaria turned into a battlefield for the third consecutive day as Hefazat supporters took to the streets to observe the strike.

UNB reported that at least 30 people were injured, including one with bullet, in clashes between Hefazat supporters and law enforcing agencies in central Narayanganj district during the strike.

Hefazat spokesman Jakaria Noman Foyezi told Efe that over 200 supporters of the group were injured in clashes during the strike.

Why is Modi a controversial figure in Bangladesh?

Modi is seen as a controversial figure in Bangladesh due to his treatment of Muslims in Hindu-majority India.

Modi had been accused of condoning violence against Muslims during riots in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. Modi, who was Gujarat’s chief minister at the time, was later cleared of complicity in the violence by a Supreme Court-appointed investigative team in 2012, angering India’s Muslim community.

Modi was visiting Dhaka on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. Modi concluded his two-day visit on Saturday.