Five more activists killed during anti-Modi protest in Bangladesh

Five more Islamist activists have died in clashes with security forces during the second day of protests against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh, officials and hospital staff said on Saturday.

Four of them were shot during clashes between the Islamic group Hefazat-e-Islami Bangladesh and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria, Abdul Momin Fuad, a local leader of the group, told reporters.

The fifth activist was shot dead when activists from the ruling Awami League party attacked the group, he added.

Abdullah Al Mamun, a medical officer at the district’s main public hospital, confirmed that three bodies covered in bullet injuries were brought to the hospital in the evening from the protest site, and two among at least 20 others admitted with bullet wounds died later.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told local news portal bdnews24.com that the law enforcement agents fired their guns in self defence.

Hefazat-e-Islami Bangladesh called a nationwide general strike for Sunday to protest the police attacks.

On Friday, four activists were shot dead in Chattogram while another man died in Brahmanbaria as demonstrators clashed with police on the day the Indian premier arrived in Dhaka to join Bangladesh’s golden jubilee celebration of independence.

Modi left Dhaka for New Delhi on Saturday, wrapping up his two-day official trip.

Modi is a hated figure among some groups in Bangladesh. He has been accused of inciting a riot against Muslims in 2002 while he was chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, in which at least 1,000 people were reportedly killed.