44 officers killed in violence during quota protests: Bangladesh police

At least 44 policemen were killed in the violence that hit Bangladesh during the massive quota reform protests that led to prime minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster, the police said on Sunday.

Hasina, 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5 following the massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

The media wing of the police headquarters said that 44 police personnel were killed in the conflict, leading Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

The reported deaths of the police officers took place between July 20 and August 14, it said.

The report said that 25 police personnel were killed on the day Hasina fled to India -- the highest number of policemen deaths recorded during the conflicts -- while 15 others died the previous day on August 4.

 

Apart from this, two policemen died while undergoing treatment on August 20, one on August 21 and one on August 14.

The highest toll was recorded in the constable-rank police personnel -- 21.

Apart from this, the list of killed persons includes 11 sub-inspectors, wight assistant sub-inspectors, three inspectors and one Naik, the report said.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

An interim government was formed and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed as its Chief Adviser.