Bangladesh MP's death fuels political unrest

09 May, 2004

Protests over the killing of an opposition member of parliament by gunmen set off widespread violence in Bangladesh on Saturday where two men were shot dead during clashes with police.
Police said the two men were killed as security forces tried to disperse angry crowds who torched several empty railway coaches and buses, shops and buildings on Friday night at Tongi, a railway junction and industrial town 20 km (12 miles) north of capital Dhaka.
The violence erupted as thousands of people attacked police with iron rods, knives and sticks, police and witnesses said.
Police said the shootout in which Ahsanullah and another man died occurred while he was speaking at a party rally on Friday afternoon at Tongi, which is his constituency. At least six others were wounded. Security was tightened in and around Tongi as Ahsanullah's followers prepared for his funeral later on Saturday.

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