The government has indefinitely extended the ongoing curfew in Gopalganj in an effort to maintain law and order in the district, following Wednesday’s violent clashes that resulted in four dead and left many others injured.
The curfew will be extended from 6:00pm on Thursday to 11:00am on Friday and after that, it will be relaxed for three hours until 2:00pm, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a brief notice.
Later, the curfew will continue until further notice, it said.
Gopalganj SP Mizanur Rahman said over 100 have been detained in a joint force drive in Gopalganj as of 9:00pm Thursday.
He said that the process of filing cases against them is underway.
Videos of the incidents of violence in the southern district yesterday (Wednesday) are being collected and analysed to identify the perpetrators, he said, adding that this information will be used to file cases against those detained.
Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Thursday said law enforcers have so far arrested 25 people over Wednesday’s violence centring an NCP rally in Gopalganj, vowing to continue drives until all accused are held.
“Those responsible for the incidents in Gopalganj will be brought to justice. There is no question of granting them impunity,” he told reporters at the Secretariat when asked about Wednesday’s violence in Gopalganj.
When asked whether intelligence agencies had any prior information about the incident, the adviser said, “The intelligence agencies had some information, but they were not aware of the extent of the violence that would occur.”
Referring to allegations from NCP leaders that law enforcement agencies failed to control the situation, the adviser said, “Anyone can say anything. Everyone is allowed to express their own opinions.”
Responding to a query on what measures would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future, he said, “All necessary precautionary measures will be taken to ensure recurrence of such incidents, although the situation is currently under control.”
He thanked the television channels for broadcasting the clashes live.
Adviser Jahangir said 10 police personnel were injured in the clashes, with two already brought to Central Police Hospital in Rajarbagh and three more on the way to the hospital from Gopalganj.
He said the law-and-order situation is now under control.
The government has formed a committee to investigate the acts of violence that occurred in Gopalganj. The committee will be led by Nasimul Ghani, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He will be joined by two additional secretaries — one from the Ministry of Public Administration and another from the Ministry of Law and Justice, said a press statement issued on Thursday by Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
It said the committee has been mandated to conduct a thorough inquiry and submit its findings to the Chief Adviser's Office within two weeks.
The interim government reiterates its commitment to upholding justice, maintaining public order and ensuring that those responsible for any unlawful acts, violence and deaths are held accountable in accordance with the law, the press statement added.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, Adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has said that based on his observation, the law enforcement agencies played a commendable role in Gopalganj.
He noted that the security forces successfully ensured the safe evacuation of all individuals from the area.
He expressed hope that those responsible for the incident and the armed attacks would be arrested under the leadership of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“As unfortunate and unexpected as the events in Gopalganj were, the law enforcement agencies responded effectively,” said Asif Mahmud.
“They managed to remove everyone from the scene safely. Therefore, there is no question regarding the role of the security forces.”
He made these remarks on Thursday while responding to journalists’ questions following a workshop titled “Youth Entrepreneurs: Investment, Policy, and Ecosystem”, jointly organised by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Agargaon in the capital.
Earlier, on Wednesday, at least four people were killed and several others injured in clashes between police and activists of Awami League and its associate bodies over a rally of the National Citizen Party (NCP) in Gopalganj.
Later, the government imposed a curfew from 8:00pm on Wednesday to 6:00pm on Thursday in Gopalganj district amid heightened tensions over clashes between police and Awami League activists over an NCP rally.
Meanwhile, NCP announced a countrywide protest rally on Thursday in response to the attack on its rally in Gopalganj.
NCP Convener Nahid Islam made the announcement at a press conference held at Khulna Press Club on Wednesday night.
