At least 93 dead as violence grips the country

At least 93 people, including 14 police personnel, were killed and over a thousand others injured, many with bullets, as a new wave of violence convulsed Bangladesh.
Ruling party activists and police clashed with protesters in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh yesterday in three-way attacks on the first day of the student-led non-cooperation movement.
The day began peacefully, but it turned violent after supporters of the ruling Awami League descended on streets and neighbourhoods to put up resistance against anti-government protests.
An angry mob attacked Enayetpur Police Station in the northern district of Sirajganj, beating 13 police personnel to death as violence spread.
A number of houses of ruling Awami League lawmakers, police stations, AL offices, police vehicles, hospital buses, and prison vans were torched or vandalised throughout the day, forcing the authorities to tighten a nationwide curfew. The telecom authorities blocked 4G mobile internet services to quell protests. 
Bangladesh announced the shutdown of public and private offices, including banks, for three days, while the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement scheduled a long march to Dhaka for today.
In the capital, at least 12 people were killed, with nine of them brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Details of violence emerged from across the country until late last night: 18 died in Sirajganj, eight each in Laxmipur, and Feni; six in Narsingdi; five in Bogura; four each in Rangpur, Magura and Sylhet; three each in Pabna, Munshiganj, Cumilla, Kishoreganj and Sherpur; two in Joypurhat, one each in Habiganj, Barishal, Savar, Bhola, Gazipur, Dhaka’s Keraniganj and Cox’s Bazar.
The death toll is expected to rise as reports of many with bullet injuries got admitted to hospitals and health complexes, according to reports filed by The Daily Star correspondents from many districts.
An uneasy situation had been prevailing since Saturday night following AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader’s announcement that the ruling party men would be on the streets to confront protesters.
Most shopping malls, shops, bank branches and other establishments were closed in Dhaka. Public transport disappeared from the streets, forcing people to walk to work, while long-haul buses and trains suspended their services. 
It all came as protesters whittled their demands down to just one: the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet members. Simultaneously, they started a non-cooperation movement, urging citizens not to pay taxes and workers abroad not to send remittances through banking channels.
The job quota reform protests by students pulled in people from all walks of life. The protests entered a dangerous phase after at least 204 people were killed in indiscriminate firing by law enforcers, members of Border Guard Bangladesh and ruling party activists, in a spasm of violence from July 16 to July 21.
Parts of the capital yesterday felt like battle-fields as police and ruling party activists clashed with protesters in Farmgate, Dhanmondi, Mirpur 10, Uttara, Shahbagh and Gulistan areas.
The road stretching from Farmgate to Bangla Motor resembled a “war zone” as police and ruling party men fired indiscriminately on a huge crowd of protesters, who were advancing towards Farmgate with sticks in hand. They were also carrying drums and traffic barriers to the protest site. At times, they threw brickbats at the police and Awami League supporters along the way.
Earlier, hundreds of ruling party supporters wielding sticks walked down Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue towards the Karwan Bazar intersection 12:50pm, raising fears of violence.
A clash broke out between protesters and ruling party men near the Awami League office in the capital’s Dhanmondi around 12:30pm when protesters from Dhanmondi-2 moved to Dhanmondi-3. Sounds of gunshots and stun grenades rang out in the area.
In Old Dhaka, a clash between police and protesters halted proceedings at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court premises.
Over a hundred protesters, along with pro-BNP lawyers, broke a collapsible gate to the court, which the police had cordoned off since morning. The protesters threw bricks at the doors and windows in the court area, witnesses said. Two prison vans and two police cars were vandalised by unidentified people as violence broke out.
The Shahbagh intersection was on edge after rival groups gathered since morning, leading to a clash. Both groups barged into the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University premises and engaged in another round of clashes. At least 24 vehicles were set on fire with black smoke billowing upwards. 
Meanwhile, gunshots were heard as protesters tried to gather at the Mirpur-10 intersection where Awami League men, some of them with firearms, took position backed by police.
In Narsingdi, at least six Awami League leaders were beaten to death and several others injured in a clash between AL supporters and protesters. The incident took place in front of a mosque next to the Madhavadhi Municipal Building in Narsingdi around 1:00pm, reports our correspondent quoting KM Shahidul Islam Shohag, additional superintendent of police.
In Feni, at least five people were killed in clashes as Awami League men attacked protesters. Several people were injured in the incident, reports our correspondent. Their identities could not be immediately confirmed.
In the northern city of Rangpur, four people died in clashes. Abdul Jalil, an official at the morgue of the Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, confirmed two of the deaths.
One of the dead was identified as Haradhan Roy, president of the Parshuram Thana Awami League and councillor of Ward 4 in Rangpur city. Another man was his driver whose name could not be known.
In Sylhet, two people were shot dead and at least 25, including policemen and members of Border Guard Bangladesh, were injured in a clash. One of the deceased was identified as Taj Uddin, 43, a businessman of Dharabohor village in Sylhet’s Golapganj upazila.
Meanwhile, protesters and police clashed around 12:00pm, half an hour after hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Court Point area in Sylhet city. Police fired shotguns, tear shells and stun grenades to disperse the protesters.
In Bogura, at least three persons were killed and many others injured, with 32 hospitalised, in separate clashes.
One of them, Manirul Islam, 24, was shot dead as police opened fire on protesters after they attacked Dupchanchia Police Station around 11:00am. He was brought dead to Dupchanchia Upazila Health Complex, according to a doctor. Besides, two others were brought dead to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College in Bogura.
“It seems they died of gunshot wounds. But we could not confirm it,” Abdul Wadud, deputy director of the hospital, told The Daily Star. At least 32 people are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In Pabna, at least three people were killed and 50 others injured during a clash between protestors and ruling party men at Traffic Mor. One person was brought dead while two others died of their injuries at the Pabna Sadar Hospital, said its assistant director, Rafiqul Hasan.
In Munshiganj, at least two persons were killed and 20 others injured near the Super Market area.
Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, superintendent of Munshiganj General Hospital, said two persons were brought dead and many were hospitalised with injuries. The doctors, however, could not give details on the nature of the injuries.
Police did not open fire, Munshiganj Additional Superintendent of Police Khairul Hasan said, adding that he was unaware of any casualty.
In Magura, at least three people were killed and 20 others were injured in clashes that involved protesters on one side and police and ruling party men on the other.
Azizul Haque, a staffer of Magura Sadar Hospital, confirmed one death and said many others, including police personnel, were injured.
In Kishoreganj, at least three people, including a woman, were killed and over 100 injured in a clash between protesters and Awami League activists.
Witnesses reported that the AL office was vandalised and set on fire during the conflict. Subsequently, the protesters blocked the road for three hours.
In Cumilla’s Debidar upazila, one person was killed and several others were injured in a clash. The deceased, Md Rubel, 33, was rushed to the Debidar Upazila Health Complex with a head injury where a duty doctor declared him dead. Rubel, son of Rafiqul Islam, was from Barera village.
The clash started as Awami League supporters attacked protesters with sharp weapons in the New Market area in Debidar upazila.
In Chattogram, at least 172 people have been admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, mostly with bullet wounds, after they were injured in a clash between protesters, police and Awami League activists.
In Faridpur, the district Awami League office was vandalised, while a BCL office was torched allegedly by protesters. The protesters also set fire to eight to ten motorcycles in front of the district AL office in the district town. Besides, police fired rubber bullets, sound grenades and teargas shells when the Kotwali Police Station was attacked.
In Khulna, unidentified people torched the Khiulna Zilla parishad office.