Many ordinary people, including children, were killed and wounded at home and workplaces in allegedly indiscriminate firing by the security agencies on roads and in residential areas to disperse the clashing protesters from different locations in the capital as student protests for quota reform turned violent.
Victims and the relatives of the deceased alleged that indiscriminate firing by the police and Border Guard Bangladesh resulted in the casualties even though they were far away from the spots of incidents.
The incidents took place between Wednesday and Sunday when the security agencies fired on the protesters to disperse them, killing over 150 people and wounding several thousand.聽
Md Sifat, 25, a mason, died at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on Saturday about 2:30pm from bullet wounds in the head sustained while he was doing masonry work with his father Md Kamal Hossain.
Kamal, also a mason, said that he along with his son Sifat and a relative named Md Siam was working on the third floor of a building named SR Tower owned by engineer Zia near Mirpur-10 intersection opposite Al Helal Hospital.
Kamal, whose village home is in Kalkini in Madaripur, said that all of a sudden a bullet hit his son in the head and another hit Siam in the forehead above an eye. Both were rushed to hospital where Sifat succumbed to injuries.
After taking treatment Siam returned home in Mymensingh.
Several witnesses, including Saddam Hossain and Sumon Sarder, said that on that day no violent protests were there on the road. People came outside home during the curfew break.
鈥楽uddenly the police opened random firing. Some bullets hit the metro rail piers and houses on both sides of the road. At least two bullets hit SR Tower. One bullet hit Sifat breaking the glass,鈥� Saddam told 抖阴精品 on Monday. Other witnesses gave the same account of the incident.
鈥楢ttacking ordinary people is a sad, unacceptable act,鈥� said National Human Rights Commission chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed.
The judicial inquiry committee would find the culprits and ensure their punishment, he hoped, adding that an extremely anarchic situation was created where security agencies were compelled to take some actions.
Lima Begum, mother of a six-year-old Md Musa who was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Friday with bullet wounds, said that the boy sustained bullet wounds when he was playing in the garage of his house at Rampura.
Local people said that at that time the police fired rubber bullets, teargas shells and shotgun bullets from close distance to disperse protesters.
She said that the spot of incident was nearly a quarter kilometre away from her house, but the police at one point chasing the protesters came within several yards of her house.
An employee of LabAid hospital, Md Roman, died at Dhanmondi just outside the hospital gate on Friday.
Witnesses said that Roman was capturing video footage of protesters like several others standing several hundred metres away from the spot.
The hospital officials said that he was not among the protesters.
On Friday, Md Dulal Mahmud, 40, an assistant manager of Standard Chartered Bank, died from bullet wounds on the belly which he had sustained in police shooting at the Azimpur government officers鈥� colony.
Deceased鈥檚 brother-in-law Md Aktaruzzaman said that Dulal had no connection with the protest.
Witnesses said that at one stage of the clash with protesters, the police entered into the colony compound and fired at random.
Dulal, son-in-law of a freedom fighter, took shelter inside the gate of building-23 as he was returning home after Esha prayer.
鈥楾he police fired Dulal from close distance when he was inside the gate of the building,鈥� said a witness, who was a government employee, seeking anonymity.
Md Aktaruzzaman said that Dulal鈥檚 primary schoolteacher wife got a flat allotted to her at the colony鈥檚 building-4.
National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital director Professor Golam Mostafa said that several children, including a two-year-old, took treatment at the hospital with pellet wounds in their eyes.
He, quoting attendants of the patients, said that the victims sustained injuries while they watched the clashes standing at the windows of their residences.
A nine-year old boy from Abdullahpur in Uttara was rushed to Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute with bullet wounds in the wrist on Friday 8:00pm.
Duty emergency doctor Mithila provided him emergency support.
Jurist and human rights activist ZI Khan Panna said that harming any civilian is violation of all sorts of human rights and is a crime.
He said that human rights should be protected not only of the civilian people but also of the protesters.
Ain O Shalish Kendra executive director Faruq Faisel demanded an independent investigation of the incidents.
鈥楤ring all responsible to book and ensure justice,鈥� he said.
Bangladesh police spokesperson and superintendent of police Enamul Haque Sagor said that he was not aware of any such incidents.
鈥業 have no information in this regard,鈥� he said.
He said that three policemen were killed in the violence and over a thousand of them injured with at least 121 remained under treatment with critical injuries.