Nahid blames govt for failing to prevent deadly clashes in Gopalganj

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convenor Nahid Islam has squarely blamed the government and law-enforcing agencies for the deadly violence in Gopalganj, saying the situation could have been prevented with "timely and proper action".

In a Facebook post on Thursday, a day after the deadly clashes, Nahid demanded a "fair investigation and trial of the attackers".

"The government and the administration must take responsibility. Arrests must be made based on specific information, not only in Gopalganj but across the country," he wrote.

At least four people were killed on Wednesday when Awami League supporters attacked an NCP rally in Gopalganj, triggering pitched battles with police as the town descended into chaos over the course of five hours, reports bdnews24.com.

Several central NCP leaders, trapped inside the superintendent of police's office, were later escorted out of the town by the Army in armoured vehicles.

The NCP leaders later held a press conference in Khulna that same night amid an overnight curfew imposed to restore order in the Gopalganj area.

At the briefing, Nahid claimed the assault on the NCP rally was "a Mujibist terrorist attack intended to kill", likening the assault to militant tactics. He gave the government a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest those responsible.

Reiterating his accusations in Thursday's Facebook post, Nahid wrote: "We will free Gopalganj and all of Bangladesh from Mujibist fascism and terror.

"The Awami League has for decades endangered lives in Gopalganj, tarnished the Liberation War, and discriminated against followers of the Hindu faith. We have vowed to end this situation."