Two die in fresh Bangladesh protest violence over Modi’s visit

Two die in clashes between protesters and police, raising the death toll from protests against Indian PM’s visit to 13.

Two people have died in fresh clashes between protesters and Bangladesh police on Sunday, raising the death toll from religious hardline protests against the visit of India’s Hindu-nationalist leader to 13, officials said. The protesters – mostly from the religious hardline group Hefazat-e-Islam – were angry at the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Bangladesh marked 50 years of independence, accusing him of stoking communal violence against Muslims in his country. Five people died on Friday, and another six the next day, after police shot at demonstrators in several main districts across the Muslim-majority nation of 168 million people.