11 died, not 2,500: DMP

 

‘An ill-motivated group has been campaigning that over 2,500 to 3,000 people died during the Motijheel operation,’ DMP Commissioner Benazir says at a press briefing Wednesday. Photo: TV grab

Trashing the claim of death of 2,500 to 3,000 Hefajat-e Islam activists merely as a rumour, Dhaka Metropolitan Police has said 11 people, including a policeman, died in Motijheel between Sunday and early Monday.
A vested ill-motivated group was campaigning that over 2,500 to 3,000 people had died during law enforcers’ drive to flush out Hefajat men from Shapla Chattar and adjoining areas, DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said at a press briefing in the afternoon.
“Had the death figure reached so high (2,500-3,000), families of the victims would rush to Dhaka and claim for the bodies,” he told journalists at DMP Media Centre.

There were intelligence reports that Hefajat activists might have carried out rampage and looted Bangladesh Bank, the Secretariat and other important offices, Benazir said.
“It is on the basis of that report that we conducted the drive without carrying any lethal weapons to ensure zero casualty,” he added.