541 killed in countrywide violence in August

Political revenge, attacks on police stations, and assault on minority communities were seen in August, and all these point to a society split across the fault lines, said Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) in a report released yesterday.
The minority communities, especially the Hindus and Ahmadiyyas, have been particularly harmed in the aftermath of the protests. Attacks on their homes and religious establishments spread extensively.
This violence followed the indiscriminate killing of students and protesters in the first five days of August.
The death toll from the entire month of August is 541, said the organisation. It collated the statistics from 12 national newspapers.
After August 7, a total of 22 individuals were killed in political violence, and 537 were injured.
Out of 49 incidents of political violence, 23 happened because of the BNP’s infighting, 21 were related to clashes between the BNP and Awami League, four were incidents of AL infighting, and one was related to a clash between the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Among the 22 dead, 12 were from the BNP and 10 from the AL, said the report.
Two journalists were killed in August and 61 were injured, claimed HRSS.
Journalist Md Atikur Rahman was killed in Jatrabari during the protests, Pradip Kumar Bhowmik was killed in Sirajganj. Cases were filed against 38 journalists, the organisation found.
At least 65 attacks were carried out on the members of the minority communities, which left 61 people injured. A total of 228 Hindu homes, 240 Hindu businesses, and 15 temples were attacked. These attacks happened in Natore, Dhamrai, Dinajpur, Patuakhali, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Jashore, Noakhali, Meherpur, Chandpur and Khulna.
In addition, the Ahmadiyyas were attacked in Panchagarh and Rangpur, read the report.
The actual figures on violence could be far higher because these only represent the incidents which were reported by the media, it added.
“The fundamental rights of the citizens must be ensured by reestablishing the rule of law and order. The democratic institutions must be strengthened through discussions with all the stakeholders — the students, the civil society and the political parties. The human rights situation will continue to deteriorate if these interventions do not happen.”