On Saturday, Jamal Munshi, brother of slain rickshaw-puller Ramzan Munshi, filed a case at Gopalganj Sadar Police Station following the repeated clashes surrounding a National Citizen Party (NCP) rally in Gopalganj.
Police sources confirm that the victim’s brother has registered a murder case where all accused remain unnamed, with no specific number of suspects mentioned.
Gopalganj Sadar Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mir Md Sajedur Rahman stated that this brings the total to 12 cases – including 5 murder cases – filed over the violent incidents.
These cases name 10,137 accused, including 687 specifically identified individuals from Awami League and its associate organisations. The remaining 9,450 accused remain unnamed.
The acting OC confirmed 314 arrests made by Saturday.
Case documents reveal that on July 16, traffic congestion occurred in Gopalganj town due to the NCP rally. Rickshaw-puller Ramzan Munshi (32) had parked his battery-run rickshaw at the garage and left for lunch around 3:35pm.
Upon reaching the launch ghat area, Ramzan encountered thousands of unidentified people marching toward the NCP rally at Town Park, armed with sticks, shields, machetes, and fireworks. The mob vandalised shops and set fire to police boxes.
As joint forces chased the protesters, counter-chases ensued. Ramzan took shelter near SK Alia Madrasa’s Falpatti area when unidentified miscreants began shooting at security forces, who returned fire.
Attempting to find safety, Ramzan moved to Cinema Hall Lane in the city’s Chowringhee area. At 4:20pm, he was shot in the right rib while standing near the cinema hall.
Locals rushed him to Gopalganj 250-bed General Hospital, but as his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he died at around 2am on July 17.
After autopsy at DMCH, the body was buried at Gatepara Municipal Graveyard in Gopalganj.
This marks the first non-police filed case after 11 days, with police being plaintiffs in 11 of the 12 total cases.
The July 16 clashes at the NCP rally in Gopalganj between law enforcement and Awami League activists claimed five lives, with dozens more injured.