By SM Najmus Sakib
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Four people were killed while dozens of others were injured in central Bangladesh on Sunday as students took to the streets demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“Two people age 22-25 were brought dead to Munshiganj General Hospital. About 50 people with shotgun bullet wounds are being treated at the hospital after violent protests ensued in the area,” Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, the government hospital’s superintendent, told Anadolu.
A member of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) student wing was shot dead in a clash with police in the southwestern Magura district, and another protester was killed in the northern Rangpur district, reported Prothom Alo daily.
Dozens of others were injured across the country in separate clashes between protesters and the ruling party, it added.
In this emerging situation, the government ordered a shutoff of mobile internet, with Facebook and WhatsApp blocked again, the newspaper also said.
Earlier on Saturday, two people, one in Chattogram and another in the central Gazipur district, were killed in clashes with police and ruling Awami League party supporters.
Key coordinator Nahid Islam on Saturday at a massive rally in the capital Dhaka announced a non-cooperation movement. He called on Hasina to resign and take responsibility for deaths during the student protests.
The non-cooperation movement called on the public to refrain from all routine government activities, including paying taxes and utility bills, to shut down all factories and offices, and to shut down transportation until the Hasina government resigns.
Hasina on Saturday said justice would be done for those killed during student protests and also called for dialogue to end the protests. Protesters, however, rejected the call for negotiations.
Sunday has been tense across the country, as the ruling Awami League party mobilized its supporters to respond to the protesters.
Opposition BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday also called on supporters to help the students on the streets.
Over the past three weeks, the South Asian nation of 170 million people has been rocked by turmoil due to a student-led protest demanding reforms to government job quotas.
The government said at least 150 people were killed in the recent violence during the student protests in July. Local media, however, said over 266 people, mostly students, were killed with bullet wounds in clashes with police and members of the ruling party.