Gopalganj now a ghost town with uneasy calm after violence
Gopalganj stays tense and silent under curfew following deadly clashes, as security forces tighten control
The city lay in uneasy stillness, its streets hushed under the weight of a sweeping curfew.
A day after the National Citizen Party's (NCP) "March to Gopalganj" descended into deadly clashes, Gopalganj felt like a ghost town.
Even the hospital, usually a place of frantic movement in times of crisis, was quiet. Too quiet.
No injured. No bodies.
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The hospital superintendent claimed the four killed had been handed to families without autopsies, because they refused.
But one grieving family said they were simply told to take the body.
No explanation. No post-mortem. Just silence.
Outside, the scars of unrest remained.
Shops were shuttered, roads deserted.
Bricks, broken bamboo, and a charred stage told their own story of yesterday's unrest.
City cleaners swept the debris as armed police, army, and other law enforcement units circled with loudspeakers, enforcing the curfew.
The air hung heavy with fear.
By afternoon, a few long-haul buses rolled out of the station, nearly empty – mirroring a city hollowed by violence, unanswered questions, and a silence that refused to break.
Scenes from the city: Debris, silence, and heavy security
We left Dhaka at 7:30 am, heading toward a city on edge. By 10:30 am, we reached Gopalganj.
As we entered Kashiani Upazila, the signs of unease were immediate – empty roads, a handful of shops tentatively open on either side.
From Kashiani Mor, we took the Bhatiapara route into town. At Police Line Mor near the bus terminal, the aftermath of the previous day's clash was still scattered in plain sight.
Broken bamboo poles and sticks littered the road, the terminal showed signs of damage, and scraps of torn banners fluttered in the wind – faded echoes of a rally turned violent.
From there, we made our way to Poura Park, the venue for the NCP rally.
For nearly a kilometer around it, the streets were strewn with bricks, stones, and debris.
By 11:15 am, city corporation cleaners had begun their day's work.
"There were bricks, stones, broken sticks, and tree branches everywhere," one of them told us, sweat lining his brow as he swept through the wreckage.
At the rally site, we found the remains of a stage – charred and collapsed.
Just opposite, in "Disikpara", a neighborhood with a lake at its centre, security had thickened.
Police and members of the Armed Police Battalion stood watch at the lake's entrance.
By 12:30pm, the army rolled in, armoured vehicles gliding through the city streets alongside police.
From loudspeakers, they declared the curfew in place, the warning looping through an already quiet city.
By 1:30pm, even the city centre had emptied further.
Shutters were down on nearly all shops, save for a few pharmacies, and ATMs had gone dark too.
The guards stationed there told us the booths were closed on instructions from higher-ups.
Gopalganj wasn't just locked down. It was holding its breath.
Bodies returned without post-mortem
At 3pm, we stepped into the Gopalganj 250-Bedded General Hospital, expecting to find chaos – wounded patients, grieving families, the hum of emergency care.
But instead, we were met with quiet corridors and an unsettling void.
At least 18 injured demonstrators were admitted to Gopalganj General Hospital yesterday. Among them, four were killed, twelve released after initial treatment, and two transferred to Faridpur Medical College because of the severity of their injuries.
The deceased were identified as Ramzan Kazi from Kotalipara, Imon Talukder from Sadar Upazila, Idris Molla from Tungipara, and Deepto Saha from Udayan Road in Gopalganj.
At the morgue, we asked about the four people killed.
"The bodies are no longer here," a staff member told us.
There were no injured patients either.
When we questioned the hospital Superintendent Jibitesh Biswas about their whereabouts and the missing bodies, he said, "The four bodies have been handed over to the families without any autopsy."
Asked why no post-mortems were done, he added, "The families did not want post-mortems."
But one such family told a different story.
Ramzan, a tile mason, had been caught in the crossfire while returning home from work.
"He was shot during the clashes yesterday. He was taken to the hospital, where he died," said a relative.
His parents and uncle recalled being offered no choice.
"The hospital informed us that no post-mortem would be conducted. We were just told to take the body."
No autopsy. No answers. Just another silence layered onto a day already thick with them.
Faint signs of normalcy on Gopalganj's roads
At 4pm, the Dhaka-Khulna-Gopalganj highway showed a rare glimpse of normalcy as inter-district buses steadily moved along the road.
At the Gopalganj bus stand, counters for Dhaka-bound buses were open – a sign that life was trying to go on despite the unrest.
Yet behind the counters, officials quietly revealed that passenger numbers were low, with travelers hesitant to venture out during these uncertain times.
By 4:30 pm, the city's uneasy calm was interrupted again as armored vehicles from the army and police patrolled the streets.
The Coast Guard and other security forces worked closely alongside them, maintaining a strong presence.
Though the curfew was initially set for 22 hours, it did not end as planned.
After today's 6pm deadline, the government extended the curfew from 2pm tomorrow and said it will continue until further notice, a clear reminder that security forces remain vigilant, watching over a city still holding its breath.
