Investigating police violence in the deadly Bangladesh quota protests

This article contains links to graphic content and descriptions that some readers may find distressing. In some cases, links may be redacted for privacy reasons, but all videos and images referenced have been archived.

On 5 August 2024, Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country after more than two decades in power. Weeks of protests led up to this moment, sparked by a court ruling relating to government job quotas.

The protests were peaceful when they began on university campuses on 5 June 2024. But in the weeks that followed, they evolved into violent clashes between protesters and police and later into widespread anti-government demonstrations.

Footage uploaded to social media or published by news outlets – much of it graphic in nature – provides critical insight into the violence. CIR verified over 50 separate incidents of potential human rights interference between July and August 2024, with deceased or injured individuals verified in around half.

Reported death tolls range from the hundreds to the thousands. The country’s interim health ministry stated that over 1,000 people died during the movement, making it the bloodiest period since Bangladesh gained independence in 1971.

Analysis of user-generated content (UGC) reveals concerning trends of disproportionate violence by police officers and military personnel, including the use of live ammunition against protesters, the desecration of bodies and the beating of unarmed civilians.

To provide an overview of how events unfolded on the ground, CIR collected, analysed and archived the available UGC, building a timeline of events and compiling several case studies – where possible, attempting to verify key details such as location, casualties, actors, and weapons.

The quota system explained

The quota system was established in 1972 and reserved a third of public sector jobs for veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971. The quota also covered minority groups and was later expanded to include descendants of freedom fighters.

In 2018, months of nationwide protests against the quota system resulted in a government decision to abolish quotas for civil service jobs in the medium to high pay brackets – known as “first” and “second class” jobs. This abolishment remained in place until 5 June 2024, when the High Court ruled in favour of seven descendants of freedom fighters and the quota system was reinstated.

The High Court’s decision sparked protests at six university campuses across Bangladesh. Protesters argued that the quota system harboured inequality across Bangladeshi society by providing jobs based on ancestry instead of merit.

This sense of inequality was compounded by a youth unemployment rate around three times higher than the national average. In an interview with BBC, a senior Chatham House research fellow described how 400,000 new graduates were left competing for 3,000 civil service jobs – making the quota issue a “lightning rod for anti-government unrest”.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the protest movement was also set against a backdrop of an increasingly restricted democratic and civil space, with the ruling Awami League dominating state institutions and restricting freedom of expression.

How peaceful protests turned violent

As protests grew in frequency and size during early July 2024, instances of violence also increased. On 15 July, members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, attacked protesters and footage of police violence against protesters began to circulate on social media.

Protesters were further galvanised by comments from former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who called protesting students “grandchildren of razakars”, a historic derogatory term for Bangladeshis who collaborated with Pakistan during the independence war.

On 18 July, the government implemented a nationwide shutdown of internet access, before imposing a curfew across the country and deploying army troops to quell the growing protest movement.

As protests continued, they spread beyond student demonstrations against the quota system, transforming into anti-government and economic protests supported by various groups within Bangladeshi society. The Supreme Court’s decision to reduce the job quota for freedom fighters’ relatives to 5% on 21 July 2024 failed to stop the protests, as demonstrators continued to call for the resignation of government officials, the release of detained protesters and justice for those killed.

Violent clashes and demonstrations continued until Hasina resigned on 5 August 2024, when Army General Waker-uz-Zaman announced that an Interim Government would be installed in her place.

Verifying the death toll through open source alone is incredibly difficult, and reported deaths vary between different sources. According to a preliminary report published by OHCHR, more than 600 people were killed during the protests between 16 July and 11 August 2024, including at least 32 children and four journalists. OHCHR notes that the reported death toll “is likely an underestimate” due to the curfew restrictions and internet shutdown, which limited information from surfacing online. In late August, Bangladesh’s interim health ministry chief claimed that over 1,000 people died during the protest movement, while a separate UN article reported over 20,000 injuries. The majority of deaths and injuries have reportedly been attributed to the police, military, and members of the BCL.

Two waves of violence

To investigate the reported violence, CIR conducted extensive searches in Bengali and English across social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Telegram. Specific attention was given to identifying keywords and hashtags related to the quota reform protests and anti-government slogans.

Investigators pieced together the available UGC in an attempt to reconstruct incidents, examining reports from both Bangladeshi and international media and attempting to corroborate these using open source techniques wherever possible.

When compiling and analysing the data, investigators noticed two peaks of violence. The first was on 18 July 2024, and the second was on 5 August 2024 – the day that Hasina resigned and fled the country.

Below are several key case studies that represent these peaks in violence.

The death of Shyakh Aashhabul Yamin

On 18 July 2024, clashes reportedly broke out between protesters, police, and BCL activists in the central Bangladeshi city of Savar, Dakha Division.

CIR identified multiple pieces of footage showing an unresponsive individual transported on the roof of an armoured personnel carrier (APC). In the footage, the individual is pulled from the roof of the vehicle and tossed over a barricade by at least two police officers. CIR verified the location of the footage as the Dhaka-Aricha Highway (N5) in Savar, at the following coordinates: 23.846107, 90.256926.

CIR confirmed reports that the individual shown in the footage was a student at the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) named Shyakh Aashhabul Yamin. Investigators verified Yamin’s identity by comparing the footage with later images from Enam Medical College Hospital and earlier photos of Yamin and his family.

As Yamin is pulled off the APC’s roof, we see a shotgun pellet fall on the ground from the direction his body came from and he appears to have difficulty breathing. Police officers then drag Yamin across the road and toss his body over the barricade, leaving him lying in the street. At least 12 police officers can be observed across four pieces of footage, many of whom can be seen firing gunshots towards crowds of protesters standing approximately 150 metres to the north.

News outlets report that Yamin’s body was taken to the nearby Enam Medical College Hospital at approximately 15:00 local time on 19 July 2024, where the hospital’s duty manager Yusuf Ali confirmed his death, stating that he sustained several pellets to his chest. Amnesty International reported that it spoke to an independent forensic pathologist who claimed Yamin’s wounds were caused by birdshot pellets. According to the human rights organisation, shotgun-fired cartridges containing birdshot “can penetrate the skin causing serious injury” and have “been associated with deaths and multiple cases of blinding”.

CIR notes that at least two police officers shown within the footage were carrying and firing Winchester Marine Defender shotguns, as highlighted below – however, while shotgun cartridges can contain birdshot pellets, CIR could not independently verify that the officers at the scene were using birdshot pellets.

Three protesters shot

On 5 August 2024, media reported that a large crowd of students and civilians gathered in the Chankharpul area of Dahka, aiming to march towards the Shahbagh neighbourhood. Clashes reportedly erupted between the police and protesters after the crowd attempted to break through police barricades, that had been set up to block the march.

CIR verified three pieces of footage showing a squad of police officers firing towards crowds of protesters along Zahir Raihan Road, Dhaka, with investigators confirming at least three casualties. Death tolls reported by Samakal News were higher – with 12 dead bodies reportedly taken to Dhaka Medical Hospital from Chankharpul within an hour of the incident.

In the first piece of footage, a police officer can be seen firing a Type 56 semi-automatic carbine in the direction of a crowd of protesters, who are located less than 100m to the east. After the gunshot is fired, one individual within the crowd of protesters falls to the ground. Another deceased individual can be seen lying in the street on the other side of the road, though it is not possible to verify what caused his injuries.

In the second video, a group of at least nine police officers can be seen firing weapons towards another crowd of protesters, some of whom are armed with wooden sticks and are throwing stones towards the officers. Though no verifiable casualties can be observed in this video, police officers can be heard saying “someone is dead” (0:22 – 0:25) and “shoot shoot” (0:26).

In the final piece of footage, an additional adult casualty is carried on a rickshaw, bringing the total number of verified casualties to three. From the footage available, CIR could not independently verify the extent of the individual’s injuries or how they sustained their injuries. The video also provides further footage of the police officers shown in the second video shooting towards protesters, who were located to the east and west of the officers, along Zahir Raihan Road.

By cross-referencing the three pieces of footage from social media with satellite imagery from Google Maps and Google Street View, CIR verified they were recorded in three separate locations along Zahir Raihan Road near the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery and Chankharpul General Hospital, in the Chankharpul area of Dhaka.

Footage of the incident was first uploaded to YouTube on 19 August 2024, however, media outlets reported that the incident occurred on 5 August 2024. An internet shutdown was enforced around this time, which could explain why the footage surfaced two weeks later.

Police ‘gave orders to shoot’

In early August 2024, at least one Armed Police Battalion (APBn) officer was identified near confrontations by the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery and Chankharpul General Hospitals. An APBn officer was reportedly arrested on 12 September 2024 in connection with the incident. CIR verified the presence of at least one APBn member through analysis of a sleeve patch, though the individual’s identity could not be confirmed. CIR assessed that this officer appeared responsible for the shooting captured in the footage.

CIR verified media reports that the Additional Deputy Police Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP’s) Ramna zone, Akhtarul Islam, was also present during the incident by comparing footage with an image taken after Islam’s appointment as Additional Deputy Commissioner. According to The Business Standard (TBS), Islam was overheard “standing at the spot and giving orders to shoot”. Another police officer reportedly present at the scene told TBS that “Sir Akhtarul himself also fired that day”.

Islam can be seen marching with officers along Secretariate Road. He is filmed speaking on a mobile phone, with a Dakha Metropolitan Police (DMP) badge visible on his sleeve, approximately 210 metres from where the squad was later stationed, as marked on the above satellite imagery. CIR was unable to verify claims that Islam gave orders to his officers to shoot at protesters or that he fired shots towards them.

A variety of weapons were used by police officers during the incident, including at least two Type 56 semi-automatic carbines, a Type 56 assault rifle and a Webley-Schermuly 37mm riot gun. The Type 56 semi-automatic carbine used by the APBn officer has a weapon number of “407” (highlighted in blue in the image above), with text reading “13 APBn” (highlighted in orange).

Bodies burning on a rickshaw

These are just two of dozens of incidents verified by CIR during clashes between police and protesters in July and August 2024.

CIR also verified a piece of footage posted in July 2024, showing an individual climbing down the exterior of a high-rise building that was under construction, before being shot at by at least two police officers from close range with a pistol.

The individual filmed hanging from the building exterior was named by media outlets as Amir Hossain, an 18-year-old man who told journalists he worked in a nearby hotel and was not part of the protests taking place that day. According to interviews with Hossain, he was on his way home from work when he was chased onto the roof of the building by policemen, who told him to jump from the building before shooting him in the legs six times.

In another incident, which allegedly occurred on 5 August 2024, media outlets reported that protesters had surrounded the Ashulia Police Station in Baipayl, Dhaka Division and attempted to storm the police station. Officers allegedly fired gunshots towards the crowd, “hitting 10 to 12 people who fell nearby”.

CIR verified two pieces of footage showing two individuals, including one police officer, loading at least three dead bodies onto a rickshaw, with at least seven other officers visible in the background. Further footage shows a truck on fire, containing at least two deceased individuals, and with at least 16 police officers watching on.

CIR could not independently verify whether the individuals observed on the truck on fire were the same as those being loaded on the rickshaw. However, CIR noted that the clothing of one individual who was loaded onto the back of the rickshaw is similar to the clothing of an individual seen burned on the truck.

Next for Bangladesh

Hasina’s resignation marked a historic turning point for Bangladesh and an end to her 15-year rule. She fled to India on 5 August 2024, with an internet shutdown enforced for several hours to limit news from spreading.

On 8 August 2024, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as interim leader, later telling reporters that Bangladesh “has got a second independence”. Political prisoners detained during the protests were released and charges were dropped.

While Hasina’s departure saw an end to weeks of protests and unrest, activists, family members and human rights organisations continue to call for accountability over the lives lost.

In August, a murder investigation was opened into the former prime minister and six other members of the previous government over the police killing of a local grocer Abu Sayed, who was shot by police outside the gates to Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, in July 2024 while armed with a stick. Although CIR did not independently verify the individual’s identity, imagery from the aftermath of the incident shows the same man being carried on a stretcher with multiple puncture wounds across his body.

Human Rights Watch also called on the interim government to back an independent investigation into the violence that took place during July and August 2024, and there have been attempts to identify and archive details of the protesters who were killed.

But since assuming power, the new interim government has also faced a wave of reported attacks on Hindus, who are a minority in Bangladesh.

On 26 August 2024, Human Rights Watch said an estimated 250 people died after Hasina’s ousting, mostly in violent reprisals against her supporters. In September 2024, sectarian violence – sparked by the reported lynching of a Bengali man – displaced ethnic minority families after homes and businesses were set on fire in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

On 31 October 2024, AP reported that attackers had set fire to the headquarters of the Jatiya Party – which supported Hasina’s government – in Dhaka. The following day, tens of thousands of minority Hindus rallied to demand that the interim government protect them from attacks and harassment.

Note: CIR updated this article on 5 November 2024 to make it clearer that investigators could not independently verify media reports of the identity of one police officer and to avoid the risk of mistaken identity. Full details are available to justice and accountability bodies on request.