Lethal weapons used indiscriminately violating laws

Abu Sayeed was at the forefront when a procession of students of Begum Rokeya University went to the intersection near the park on 16 July to press home their demand for the reform to the quota system in government jobs.

Though other protesters left the spot in the face of obstructions from the police, Abu Sayeed stood stretching his both hands. The police fired bullets on this unarmed protesting youth. He passed away even before being taken to the hospital.

This was not a scene from Rangpur only, rather the law enforcement agencies from various areas, including Dhaka city, of the country fired bullets indiscriminately to quash the movement of the students. At least three types of lethal weapons have reportedly been used to kill people.

A large number of people were killed from 16 July to the next day of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. Prothom Alo has received information of 758 deaths centring the movement so far. Most of them were killed by lethal weapons.

According to the non-governmental human rights organisation, Human Rights Support Society, 70 per cent of the deaths are due to shooting.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab has verified two videos of the shooting of Abu Sayeed in Rangpur. The agency said, using satellite images, they found that Abu Sayeed was shot from a distance of 15 metres only. Sayeed was not a threat to the police at the time. Apparently, the shooting was intentional.

Various fact-checkers and organisations analysed the video footage of six more such incidents. Those reveal that, in many cases, the incidents of shooting have taken place despite the absence of circumstances to exercise the “right of self-defence” by law enforcement personnel.

Information on the death of 341 people during the movement between 16 July and 3 August has been received. Analysis of the deaths of 175 people showed that 137 had fatal gunshot wounds and 22 had wounds of bullets fired from shotguns. Relevant sources said that many of them were victims of target shooting.

Information of a further 417 deaths has been received since 4 August until now. Among them, 116 people were killed in just one day, on 4 August, across the country. On that day, many leaders and workers of Awami League alongside law enforcement agencies were also seen shooting with lethal firearms at the protesters.

Witnesses said shotguns, guns and pistols were seen in the hands of Awami League leaders and activists who participated in the attacks in different parts, including Dhaka, in the country. Rifles were also seen at some places. Local sources said that MP Nizam Hazari’s supporters fired with AK-47 and M-16 rifles in Feni.

There were attacks on Awami League leaders and activists, as well as police stations after Sheikh Hasina had fled the country on 5 August. Several police members were killed at that time. On 5 August, the police also fired heavily from the affected police stations. The force claimed that they were forced to shoot in self-defence.

However, the protesters said that since the morning of 5 August, the police have fired indiscriminately at various places. Most of the shooting incidents took place in Jatrabari. Besides this, the police fired heavily at various places, excluding the attacks on the police stations, from 16 July to 4 August.

An analysis of data from law enforcement sources, ammunition experts, various hospitals and fact-checking organisations, and videos and photos of weapons used during the clashes revealed that three categories of weapons - shotguns, pistols, and Chinese rifles - were used more frequently in firing on protesters.

Weapons like SMG (submachine gun) and LMG (light machine gun) were also used in some places. Apart from this, tear gas shells and sound grenades were also used to disperse the gatherings.

Relevant sources said two types of bullets, of rubber and lead, were fired from the shotgun. Many people call these pellets too as there are small balls (splinters) inside the cartridges.

Pellets could also be lethal depending on the number of balls, size and distance of firing from the target. As was the case of Abu Sayeed of Rangpur. His postmortem report found that his chest and abdomen were lacerated with splinters.

Police sources said the force uses 7.62mm rifles and 9mm pistols but 9mm pistols are used the most. Besides this, the police also use SMG and LMG.

A retired senior army officer, who is also an ammunition expert, told Prothom Alo that the effective range of 9mm pistol bullets is 50 metres. Depending on the situation, it could be fatal even if it hits at a distance of several hundred metres, he added.

A semi-automatic 7.62mm Chinese rifle bullet is lethal if it hits someone within 300 metres of range.

The army officer further said that depending on the type of cartridges, a bullet fired from a shotgun could cause death if it hits within 40-50 metres.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab analysed several incidents of shooting and said the law enforcement agencies used bullets illegally on the protesting students. Lethal weapons like assault rifles were used.

Besides, the law enforcement agencies used gas guns, sound grenades and APCs and including date expired tear gas shells. They even allegedly fired sound grenades, lobbed tear gas shells and fired live bullets from helicopters.

Amnesty International said a dangerous use of tear gas on the students in enclosed spaces has also been reported.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said one of their helicopters flew 98 times over various areas of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narsingdi and Narayanganj.

RAB’s legal and media wing director Lt. Col. Munim Ferdous claimed to Prothom Alo that their helicopters were used to throw sound grenades and tear gas shells only. No bullet was fired from their helicopter.

Relevant people and rights organisations, however, stressed that the way the law enforcement agency members used force disproportionately and fired bullets centering the quota reform movement, that violated the constitution of Bangladesh, penal code and police guidelines. Such activities are a violation of the United Nations’ universal declaration of human rights and international accords on political and civic rights of the people.

According to Section 153 of the police regulations, the police can use firearms in three cases. These are to exercise the right of individuals to defend themselves and protect property, to disperse unlawful assemblies and to make arrests.

Under sections 100 and 103 of the Penal Code-1860, the police are empowered to cause the death of attackers in certain cases, that include killing, critical injuries and arson attacks. According to the Police Regulations of Bengal, the police can use force to protect their and the people’s and the government’s properties.

However, section 99 of the Penal Code has determined the extent of this force. According to this section, no more force than is necessary for self-defence can be used. Apart from that, as per Section 102 of the Penal Code, the right to use force in self-defence also ends when the threat of harm ceases.

Qadaruddin Shishir, a Bangladesh fact check editor at AFP, analysed video footage of a clash in Rampura area in the capital.

He told Prothom Alo that a protesting youth near the intersection of WAPDA road and Rampura-Mouchak road suddenly fell down. An analysis of photos taken from Google Street View and video footage revealed that a bullet fired from about 100 metres hit that youth. A BGB team was there.

The Crisis Evidence Lab of Amnesty International analysed video footage of the area and said on 25 August that some police and BGB officials were seen standing beside an APC. One of the officials was seen opening fire twice from an assault rifle.

Analysing the video, Amnesty International said such firearms are not suitable for police activities at rallies. These sorts of weapons can only be used in case of potential threat of serious hit or death.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, former inspector general of police (IGP) Nur Mohammad said, “It needs patience to control an agitated mob or demonstration. It’s not the police's job to open fire targeting anybody. Besides, people inside their home were also shot. Some of them even died. These are highly non-professional works.”

He says now political connections have become greater to police members than their professionalism. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to open fire in this way. The police deviated from their professionalism.

According to Police Regulations of Bengal (PRB), there are provisions to warn the people before opening fire even if the rally is illegal.

According to the PRB – 153(c), “An order to fire upon a crowd should be regarded as an extreme measure to which recourse should be had only in the last resort when it is absolutely necessary for the defence of life or property or when a Magistrate, an officer-in-charge of a police-station or police officer superior in rank to such officer considers it impossible to disperse a mob by any other means.” The PRB defines it as an extreme measure.

However, as per the locals and different video footage that went viral on social media, the members of law enforcement agencies opened fire on unarmed people on numerous occasions during the clashes centering the quota reform movement. They misused the ‘extreme measure’.

The Prothom Alo correspondents visited 31 hospitals in Dhaka. Some 6,703 people received treatment from 16-22 July in these hospitals. Some 964 people were admitted to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) from 18-22 July. Of them, 231 were shot.

According to PRB-154, “Firing should always be controlled and directed at a specified target. No greater hurt than is unavoidable should be inflicted. Firing should cease as soon as its objective is achieved.”

There are specific directives regarding how to open fire in the PRB. According to PRB-155, “The police officer in command shall give the order to use force or to fire when so directed by a Magistrate under regulation 151 or, if no Magistrate is present when he himself considers it to be necessary. He or she shall direct the firing in such a way as to secure immediate effect with a minimum of injury. Firing over the heads of the crowd or in any direction except on members of the crowd is strictly forbidden, as being likely both to cause injury to innocent persons at a distance and to embolden the participants in the disturbance by having no visible effect. Before he gives the actual order to fire, he should specify the range, the target and the number of rounds to be fired.”

It further said, “He or she shall give the order to cease fire as soon as the mob shows the slightest inclination to retire or disperse. The Magistrate, if any is present, has authority to direct him to give such an order.”

However, these provisions were highly ignored during the student movement against discrimination. As a result, there were even incidents where people were shot while staying inside their house. As many as 615 people were admitted in the three hospitals in Dhaka alone after sustaining bullet injuries in their eyes.

Analysing four videos of police firing in the capital’s Jatrabari area, it was found that police opened fire on unarmed people from point blank range. In one of the footage, the police members were seen firing at protestors, who were hiding beside the road divider.

In another video, police personnel were seen opening fire towards two men indiscriminately as they were trying to move a critically injured person.

Another video shows a policeman was seen shooting a person after beating him up severely. The victim collapsed within a second after that. In another video, a policeman was seen shooting a person after aiming the gun at him. The police members did not seem to be under any threat in any of these four videos.

Amid such a situation, additional deputy inspector general of police Md. Moniruzzaman appealed for voluntary retirement on 11 August. In his letter, he wrote he had to obey the illegal orders of the ministers concerned of the Awami League government at various times over the past 10 years. Police members at the fields killed numerous people including children and teenagers at the cruel and barbaric orders from the top level of police.

Video footage shows a person, who took shelter on the cornice of an under-construction building, being shot several times somewhere in Banasree area in the capital. Analysing this footage, Qadaruddin Shishir, AFP’s fact check editor in Bangladesh, told Prothom Alo a person was trying to protect himself by hanging the cornice of an under-construction building, in Rampura. Moments later, police fired shots at him.

Prothom Alo spoke to that person later. His name is Amir Hossain, he works at a shop and resides in Meradia of Banasree. He was caught in the clash on that day and took shelter in that under-constriction building where police fired five rounds of bullets at his legs.

People concerned said police cannot fire bullets at innocent people in such a manner even if it becomes necessary to arrest someone.

Newly-appointed inspector general of police Md. Moynul Islam told Prothom Alo that incidents of human rights violations have happened because of several highly ominous and unprofessional officials, as well as not following the recognised policy on the use of force to formulate work plans. The process has started to find out those who were involved in it and to take legal action.

Regarding this security analyst M Sakhawat Hossain spoke to Prothom Alo on 3 August, before he became an adviser to the interim government. He said, “Shots have been fired at innocent people unnecessarily all over the place, right and left, whichever direction they like. I have never seen such disorganised and uncontrolled firings like this. Helicopters have been used too. Having watched this, it seemed a war situation.”

After becoming the adviser, Sakhawat Hossain told journalists on 11 August that the police had been used as goons and they had been given lethal weapons, which was not right.

Dhaka signed the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights of 1966 in 2000, which is why Bangladesh is obliged to abide by it legally. Article 6(1) of the ICCPR states every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

* The report, originally published in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza, Ashish Basu and Hasanul Banna