BBC Eye claims to have obtained several audio and video recordings related to the political power transition in Bangladesh last year. Based on these materials, it reported on Tuesday that at least 52 people were killed in police firing in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area on August 5, with then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina allegedly authorizing security forces to use maximum force.
When contacted regarding the indiscriminate shooting at protesters, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Police told the BBC that some members of the force used excessive force at the time and behaved unprofessionally in controlling the protesters.
The BBC report is primarily based on a video recorded on the mobile phone of a man named Miraz Hossain, who was also killed in the police firing that day.
The BBC later collected and verified the footage from his family.
Analysis of the video’s metadata shows that the indiscriminate shooting began at 2:43pm that day.
The video shows a group of army personnel standing in front of protesters at the main gate of Jatrabari police station.
Suddenly, they are seen leaving the area.
Moments later, police officers from inside the station began firing without warning at the protestors gathered at the gate, the BBC reports.
CCTV footage from a building opposite the police station shows protesters running through alleyways to escape the gunfire.
Another video from the same day shows police kicking injured people.
In addition, the BBC obtained some footage from the previous day, August 4, which shows police coming out of the station and heading toward the highway while firing shots.
In both videos, three gunshots from a machine gun can be heard, and smoke can be seen rising from a truck parked outside the police station.
According to the BBC investigation, the shooting continued for over 30 minutes in front of Jatrabari police station on the afternoon of August 5.
The BBC also obtained drone footage from the time of the incident. The footage shows multiple dead bodies lying on the highway. Protesters are seen trying to transport the injured to hospitals using vans, rickshaws, and motorbikes.
Within a few hours, a section of protestors moved toward Shahbagh, while others who remained in Jatrabari allegedly set fire to the police station. At least six police officers were killed in that incident.
Initial reports indicated that at least 30 protesters were killed in Jatrabari that day.
After verifying media reports, interviews with victims’ families, hospital records, and various social media posts, the BBC claimed that at least 58 people, including civilians and police personnel, were killed in Jatrabari on August 5.
Multiple cases have been filed against several police officers, including the then-officer-in-charge of Jatrabari police station, Abul Hasan, in connection with the incident.
The BBC attempted to contact the Bangladesh Army to comment on the role of military personnel during the incident, but received no response.
Additionally, the BBC report references an audio recording, said to be a leaked phone conversation involving former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in which she reportedly authorized the use of lethal force.
The alleged audio, featuring a conversation between Hasina and an unidentified senior government official, is being treated as the most critical piece of evidence so far.
According to a source familiar with the audio, the call was made from Sheikh Hasina’s official residence on July 18.
The recording has been available online since early March this year.
Since the protests, numerous clips have surfaced online claiming to feature Sheikh Hasina’s voice, many of which remain unverified.
However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police has claimed that the voice in the July 18 recording matches that of Hasina, reports the BBC.
