On Sunday and Monday, 3 and 4 March, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a 48-hour hartal.[2] Protests led by Jamaate Islami activists and Sayeedi supporters were carried out during these strikes.[2]Bangladesh Nationalist Party supported the strike and called for another daylong strike on 5 March.[5] Police shot dead 31 protestors during the initial clashes.[6] According to Human Rights Watch, members of the Border Guards Bangladesh, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) shot live ammunition and rubber bullets into unarmed crowds, which included children, conducted sweeping arrests and used other forms of excessive force during and after protests.[3] One eyewitness recalling the death of his 17-year-old family member described how he was shot after walking back from afternoon prayers:[3]
I saw [him] on the ground with blood coming from his head. I tried to drag his body to the side. It was the first time I had seen a dead body so I was in shock. They were still shooting, so I ran down the road. … When the RAB officers stopped shooting they dragged [him] like a carcass and flung him into the car.
During the clashes a total of 80 individuals were shot dead by police.[2] Police says that it did all these killings in "self defense."[6]
After the verdict of Delwar Hossain Sayidee, attacks on Hindu community occurred in several districts of Bangladesh including Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Chittagong, Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Cox's Bazar, Bagerhat, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat, Barisal, Bhola, Barguna, Satkhira, Chapainawabganj, Natore, Sylhet, Manikganj, Munshiganj.[8][9][10] Several temples were vandalized. 2 Hindus died due to injuries in the violence.[11][12] In a BBC News report, Anbarasan Ethirajan wrote that "the recent violence is mainly blamed on the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose leaders are facing war crimes at the tribunal. But the party - which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan - denies the charges."[13]Amnesty International expressed concern on the anti-Hindu attacks and urged the government of Bangladesh to provide them with better protection.[14][15] Abbas Faiz, Bangladesh Researcher of Amnesty International has said that, since the obvious risks the Hindu minority face in Bangladesh, these attacks were predictable.[16][17][18]
Following the events at Motijheel, protests in other parts of the country also broke out, during which 27 people died,[25][26][27] although different sources report casualty numbers ranging from 20 to 61.[25][26][27][28][29][30] The opposition party BNP initially claimed thousands of Hefazat activists were killed during the operation, but this was disputed by the government.[31][32]Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations put the total death toll at above 50,[31] but rights groups have termed the events as a massacre.[3][33] Initial attempts to dispute the chain of events were thwarted due to the government closure of two television channels, Diganta Television and Islamic TV, which were live telecasting the operation.[34]
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has strongly condemned the action of law enforcement forces.[38] The chairperson of BNP, Khaleda Zia, has termed the spate of deaths across the country as "genocide" and accused the government of oppressing the opposition parties.[39] The BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir blamed the government for the ongoing hate attacks on the minorities (i.e. Hindu community) across Bangladesh.[9] On the other hand, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni condemned reports of Jamaat-e-Islami activists attacking minority Hindus and their temples in different parts of the country.[40] She said, "It is unfortunate and deplorable. The (Bangladesh) government will not tolerate any attempt to destabilize the country, or allow any breach of communal harmony."
Several international organizations have expressed their concern over the recent violence in Bangladesh as an aftermath of the verdict. Human Rights Watch urged restraint on all sides.[41]
Recognizing the right of the people to protest, the United Nations deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said, "The Secretary-General [of the U.N.] recognizes the right of people to protest, and it's the responsibility of both the authorities and the people protesting to assure this is done in a very peaceful manner."[38]
The United Kingdom has expressed sadness over the violence and the number of senseless and unnecessary deaths that have taken place across Bangladesh during the past few days.[42] The BritishHigh Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Gibson, said, "I deplore the cruel and unwarranted attacks on places of worship and private property." He added, "This great achievement risks being undermined by the callous and unacceptable actions of a few. While every citizen has the right to mount a peaceful protest, intimidation and imposition of strikes disrupts the lives of all citizens and hampers the operation of legitimate business. This is sending a negative signal to the international community and those wishing to invest in Bangladesh."[42][43]Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird also expressed Canada's concern for Bangladesh.[44] The United States has also expressed their concern over the attacks on homes, temples and shops owned by Hindu community in Bangladesh and called government to ensure safety of its citizens.[45]