A leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal(JCD), who sustained bullet wounds during a clash between police and BNP activists on Sunday, died at a hospital in the capital on Wednesday, raising the death toll from the incident to two.
The deceased was identified as Noor-e-Alam, the president of district unit JCD.
Humayun Kabir Sopan, a joint general secretary of Bhola district unit BNP, said Noor-e-Alam suffered bullet wounds during a clash with police on Sunday.
He was taken to Comfort Hospital the same day where he succumbed to his wounds around 3:15 pm.
Noor-e-Alam had been on life support at the hospital as he was hit in the head by a bullet during the police firing at BNP’s rally on Sunday.
Demonstration at Nayapaltan
Several hundred leaders and activists of BNP and JCD gathered in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office in the afternoon and staged a demonstration there, protesting the death of Noor-e-Alam.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir spoke at the programme and criticised the government for killing the two leaders of their party’s two associate bodies in a police firing in Bhola.
Read: JCD leader’s death: BNP calls hartal in Bhola for Thursday
The BNP leader said the blood of the slain leaders of the party will not go in vain.” “We’ll restore democracy, being imbued with the spirit of the sacrifices of Noor-e-Alam and Abdur Rahim.”
He said a namaz-e-janaza of the Chhatra Dal leader was scheduled to be held in front of the BNP office around 6 pm today (Wednesday), but his body was not discharged from the hospital for autopsy.
Fakhrul said Noor-e-Alam’s Janaza will be held in front of the BNP central office at 11am on Thursday.
Dawn-to-dusk hartal in Bhola
Meanwhile, BNP’s Bhola district unit on Wednesday called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district for Thursday protesting the death of Noor-e-Alam.
The strike will be observed from 6am to 6pm in the district, Humayun Kabir Sopan told UNB.
Fakhrul denounces the killing
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir strongly denounced and protested the killing of the JCD leader in police firing.
In a statement, he said the current ‘usurper’ Awami government has established terrible 'misrule' in the country by snatching people’s freedom of speech and opinion.
“The government has introduced a culture of fear in the entire country by taking an imprudent decision like killing people, getting unnerved by people's protests and demonstrations. The government must take responsibility for it,” the BNP leader said.
Also read: BNP to probe Bhola police firing, console victims’ families
Fakhrul alleged that law enforcers are being ordered to indiscriminately attack BNP’s programmes and take the lives of the party leaders and activists. “The firing of law enforcers at the BNP's peaceful programme in Bhola is part of an evil plan by the government.”
He alleged that two leaders of BNP’s associate bodies—Abdur Rahim and Noor-e Alam--were killed in police firing in Bhola in a planned way to suppress BNP’s democratic movement and divert people’s attention to a different direction from power, energy and economic crisis.
“The incident of taking two fresh lives through such a barbaric attack on BNP's peaceful programme has shaken the conscience of the global community…Such killings by police will hasten the downfall of the government," the BNP leader observed.
Fakhrul expressed deep shock at the death of Noor-e Alam and prayed for the salvation of his departed soul.
He also conveyed his profound sympathy to the bereaved family members of the slain JCD leader.
As part of BNP’s countrywide demonstration programme protesting the ongoing load shedding and mismanagement in the power sector, the leaders and activists of the party gathered in front of their district party office in Bhola on July 31.
At one stage, police obstructed them when they tried to stage demonstrations at Kalinath Roy Bazar around 11:30 am, triggering a clash.
Later, police fired bullets and lobbed teargas shells that left local Swechchasebak Dal leader Abdur Rahim dead and some other leaders and activists of the party injured.
BNP on Tuesday formed a 12-member committee to probe the police firing during the party’s demonstrations.