Bangladesh: 12 injured in rally against Indian premier

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - At least 12 people were injured in Bangladesh at a protest against the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to eye witnesses and local police.

The casualties included four policemen from a clash with protesters on Wednesday night in the southern island of Hatiya.

Hundreds of protesters on the remote island blocked a busy road and chanted slogans against the Modi government which is widely viewed as anti-Muslim, due to recent riots in the Indian capital New Delhi that killed at least 47 people.

“Police came to the spot and asked people to vacate. But protesters carried on the demonstrations against the massacre of Muslim in the Indian capital, Delhi,” Iftikhar Hossain a local told Anadolu Agency.

“At one stage police baton-charged the protesters, who retaliated with brick bats and stones,” he added.

Modi is due in Bangladesh on March 17 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Local police confirmed four of their officers were injured and hospitalized.

“We requested them to leave the busy road, but they did not listen. Instead, they hurled brick bats at us,” Abul Khayer, the local police chief, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

He added that police have started investigating the incident.

The Bangladeshi government has come under criticism for sending an invitation to Modi, with opposition parties condemning the recent killings in Delhi during communal riots.

Meanwhile, a platform of 46 Islamic organizations in the country -- dubbed as the Islamic Law Implementation Council -- also called on Dhaka to withdraw the invitation to the Indian prime minister.

The group also announced countrywide demonstrations after Friday prayer in demand to protest the "anti-Muslim violence" in New Delhi.

At least 47 people, majority of them Muslims, were killed -- with bodies fished out of drains in the week-long riots which started in late February.