Violence Erupts in Gopalganj: Alleged Awami League Supporters Attack NCP Rally, Army Rescues Leaders Amid Chaos

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, July 17, 2025

Tensions flared in Gopalganj on Wednesday afternoon as a violent attack was launched on leaders and activists of the National Citizen Party (NCP) following a rally at Poura Park. The attack reportedly occurred around 2:45 PM, immediately after the NCP concluded their public gathering.

Eyewitnesses stated that a group of individuals, allegedly supporters of the ruling Awami League, armed with sticks and clubs, surrounded and assaulted NCP members. In a shocking development, the attackers also blocked police vehicles from intervening, further escalating the situation.

District authorities responded swiftly. An executive magistrate confirmed to reporters that Deputy Commissioner Md Kamruzzaman imposed Section 144 across the district in an attempt to bring the situation under control.

As the violence intensified, members of the police and Bangladesh Army fired sound grenades and blank rounds to disperse the crowd and prevent further bloodshed. Despite the intervention, the NCP delegation had to flee the area under military protection. According to reports, some NCP leaders escaped in armored military vehicles, including army tanks, marking an extraordinary and unprecedented retreat of political figures from the region.

Midnight reports from Bangladesh allege that a joint operation, involving law enforcement and political forces, carried out attacks described by some as a "massacre." These allegations claim that in the cover of darkness, armed forces opened fire on civilians in what some are comparing to the atrocities of 1971, drawing sharp condemnation from civil society and human rights observers.

Sources claim that groups including the NCP, Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP, and others were targeted. Accusations have been leveled that citizens were shot at indiscriminately, and that the armed forces, who are constitutionally mandated to protect all citizens, failed in their duty of neutrality. Instead, they allegedly sided with political interests, sparking a wave of questions across the country.

Civilian in Gopalganj, particularly those near the Bangabandhu Mausoleum, were reportedly trying to protect the site from the growing tension, yet were fired upon by security forces. Observers and analysts are now raising critical concerns about the neutrality of state forces and the motivations behind such a large-scale crackdown.

This incident marks a severe blow to democratic expression and civil rights in Bangladesh and has sparked debates both domestically and internationally regarding

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