While official sources confirm five deaths in the fatal gunshots by the Bangladesh Army and police members in Gopalganj, the hometown of five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the International Crimes Research Foundation (ICRF) says the death toll is at least 21, as the military unleashed deadly force against civilians.
The massacre attracted global headlines after genocide and human rights abuse claims were made at the United Nations.
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In a letter to the UN Ethical Office, the ICRF characterised the violence as a politically motivated assault, heritage desecration, and state-sponsored violence and demanded an international probe and accountability under international law.
The violence erupted when the NCP held a rally at Gopalganj on July 16. The NCP membersโ convoy was attacked, reports indicate, at around 2:30pm while returning from a rally. The attack took place near the Gopalganj Government College, where the launch ghat area is located.
Earlier, around 1:30pm, there were also individual attacks before the start of the rally. The fight intensified on the rally stage in the municipal park area, causing pandemonium throughout the town. Newspapers reported that several passersby were targeted by the violence.
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In its letter to the UN Ethical Office, the ICRF has blamed the NCP for advancing on Gopalganj to desecrate and demolish the grave of Bangladeshโs founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The ICRF also observed that NCP is not registered with the Election Commission and does not have any legal status as a political party. The protesters insisted that locals attempted to halt the rally, but the Bangladesh Army backed up the NCP and fired on civilians with live ammunition.
โAt least 21 individuals were killed, according to the ICRF, many more than the four fatalities reported officially.โ The organisation also complained that security forces detained and tortured at least one civilian in the crackdown.
The ICRF called for a separate international inquiry into the Gopalganj incident.
It called on the United Nations to answer for potential extrajudicial killings and acts of torture committed by the Bangladesh Army. The violence is presented in the letter as an organised attack on a national cultural site and a quelling of civilian opposition.
The NGO charged the military with disobeying international human rights principles, stating that state violence may worsen unchecked without international monitoring.
The day after the rioting, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government declared an inquiry committee. The committee, led by Nasimul Ghani, the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, will probe the Gopalganj unrest.
However, critics question the neutrality of the probe. With state forces allegedly involved in violence, many argue that only an international investigation can deliver justice.
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