Two more people have died overnight in security forces’ anti-narcotics operation amid growing criticism from rights groups and rival political parties.
Police claimed that one suspect was killed in an encounter with them in Chandpur during anti-drug raids in the early hours of Wednesday and another suspect died in an alleged gunfight with law-enforcement agencies in Mymensingh on Tuesday night.
In most cases, the security forces have maintained that the suspects were involved in drug trafficking and resisted arrest leading to gun battles that left them dead.
Thousands of people have also been arrested in raids across the country during the ongoing the crackdown, according to a bdnews24 report.
However, people from different walks of life expressed concerns over the killings of suspected drug dealers in so-called shootouts with law-enforcement agencies.
Human rights organisations in Bangladesh raised questions over the killings following complaints from the victims’ families and demanded investigations into the deaths during the anti-drug operations.
The rival political parties urged the government to refrain from “extrajudicial killings” and feared the ruling Awami League may use the crackdown to suppress dissent.