Bangladesh tense after deadly clashes in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's home town Gopalganj

Bangladesh remained on the edge on Thursday with military troops, paramilitary forces and riot police patrolling the thoroughfares in Gopalganj, the home town of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to ensure a 22-hour curfew after 14 people were detained following clashes that left four dead.

In a letter written to the UN Ethical Office, a UK-based independent non-governmental organisation - International Crimes Research Foundation (ICRF) - highlighted the political violence, heritage destruction and other human rights violations that have engulfed Bangladesh.

The objective of the rally, carried out on Wednesday by National Citizens Party (NCP), was to desecrate and demolish the graveyard of Bangladesh's Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Visuals of the forces in Bangladesh opening fire with clear instructions have gone viral. Sources alleged that Pakistan sympathisers with the Bangladesh Army may have been behind the firing.


"On July 16, 2025, a political group known as the Nationalist Citizens Party, which is neither registered with the Election Commission nor holds any legal status as an electoral political party, marched into Gopalganj with thousands of its followers," ICRF said in a letter to the UN.