The BNP on Wednesday demanded the government issue a press note over crackdown by police, Rab and BGB members on the Hefazat-e-Islam sit-in early Monday at Shapla Chattar in the capital.
Shamsuzzaman Dudu, adviser to the BNP chairperson, said people want to know the casualty in the combined operation to drive the Hefazat men out of Shapla Chattar.
He also asked the government to let people know about the number of law enforcers who joined the operation and the kinds of weapons they used.
Addressing a press briefing at the BNP Naya Paltan office following a dawn to dusk countrywide hartal on Wednesday, Shamsuzzaman said: “The rumour is rife that thousands of people were killed.”
International media aired such news but the government is yet to issue any press note over the incident.
The BNP leader said people of the country did not believe in the statement of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed.
Shamsuzzaman claimed 15 opposition men had been killed, more than 107 arrested and 211 injured since Tuesday.
He also said a parliamentary probe committee will be formed from their end to investigate the incident.
He thanked people of the country for observing the hartal.
Earlier on Tuesday the BNP demanded “neutral international investigation” into the “genocide” early Monday.
Vice-chairman of the party Sadeque Hossain Khoka, however, demanded a judiciary probe committee to dig out the truth.
The party alleged that when the Hefazat men gathered at the Shapla Chattar peacefully to realise their demands, the government launched an attack to eliminate them as per their plan.
Meanwhile, the BNP in a press release signed by Shamsuzzaman said the government swooped on the Heafazat men in a pre-planned way.
“Deployment of armed Awami cadres and their planned mayhem, cutting off electricity supply and keeping the electronic and print media journalists at bay from the spot before the operation clearly indicate that it was a pre-planned killing,” the release said.
“From international media and various sources, we came to know that some 2500-3000 people were killed and more than 10 thousand were injured,” it read.
“We became stunned knowing that paramilitary troops along with the law enforcement were deployed with weapons for the operation at midnight...but the government did not permit any kind of operation when army officials and their family members were killed during the BDR mutiny,” the press release noted.
Shamsuzzaman blamed the ruling party men for burning religious books including the holy Quran.
“The government launched the attack on orphan, poor madrasa students at midnight,” he alleged.
