Police release list of 44 killed during uprising
Saturday, 26 October 2024
Police Headquarters has released a list of 44 police personnel who were killed during the mass uprising in July and August, reports bdnews24.com.
It claimed that misinformation was being spread about the 'true number' of law enforcers killed amid the violence surrounding the government changeover.
It also called for anyone with information on the deaths of any police personnel outside of this list to come forward with any evidence of their deaths if they have them.
The Chief Advisor's Press Wing issued a statement on the matter citing police headquarters on Friday.
"We have noticed that some news outlets and individuals are deliberately spreading false and misleading information about the number of policemen killed in the July-August student-led uprising," Police Headquarters said, noting that it had published the actual list of police officers killed in the uprising.
The police maintain a meticulous list of officers or constables who have been injured or killed during protests or violence, it said.
"If anyone claims that there have been police deaths outside of this list in the uprising, we call for evidence."
On Aug 18, Police Headquarters released a list of 44 policemen, including 21 constables, who were killed between Jul 21 and Aug 14 in the violence surrounding the quota reform movement and the mass uprising that overthrew the government.
A student-led protest demanding abolition of the quota movement in government jobs intensified in mid-July.
On Jul 16, the movement turned violent after six people across the country were killed in police fire, including Abu Sayed from Rangpur. Eventually the Anti-discrimination Student Movement transformed into a one-point movement calling for the overthrow of the government.
In the face of the mass uprising Sheikh Hasina resigned from her premiership and fled to India on Aug 5.
After an interim government took over on Aug 8, the Ministry of Health formed a committee on Aug 15 to prepare a list of all those killed and injured during the uprising.
On Sept 9, the Ministry of Health said that the initial list put the death count at 631 and the number of injuries at 19,200. The death toll has since risen to 863 in later updates.