24 July 2024: When fear became routine

On the morning of 24 July 2024, the fragile hope that had kept Dipak Kumar Gope breathing, finally shattered. His six-year-old daughter, Riya, passed away at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Five days earlier, on 19 July, she had been playing on the rooftop of their Narayanganj home when clashes erupted on the streets below. 

Dipak had rushed upstairs to bring her inside, only for a bullet to pierce the back of her head just as he carried her into his arms. Despite desperate surgeries, she could not be saved, becoming one of four victims who succumbed to their wounds on 24 July 2024. 

As hospitals continued to receive patients injured during the previous days' violence, events outside took a different turn. On that day, the authorities intensified their security response, expanding arrests and launching operations across the country. 

More arrests 

According to police figures, more than 1,400 people were arrested across the country that day, including 641 in Dhaka, as authorities expanded their crackdown on protesters and those they alleged were involved in the violence.

Detective Branch Chief Harun-or-Rashid said officers were reviewing video footage to identify those involved in the protests. 

The three key student coordinators Asif Mahmud, Abu Baker Majumder, and Rifat Rashid finally resurfaced after five days of enforced disappearance. Asif Mahmud and Abu Baker detailed how they had been blindfolded and dumped in areas like Hatirjheel and Dhanmondi. Rifat posted on Facebook that he had narrowly escaped from an enforced disappearance. 

Elsewhere, the UAE sentenced 57 Bangladeshi nationals to prison for participating in solidarity protests. 

Offices reopened 

The government announced a limited relaxation of the curfew, allowing offices to operate from 11am to 3pm in an effort to resume some economic activity. However, the effects of the preceding days' violence remained evident across workplaces and the city.

As a journalist, I travelled through Dhaka carrying a curfew pass. With the country under a complete internet blackout, verifying information and reporting developments had become significantly more difficult.

Much of my reporting focused on documenting deaths, injuries, and arrests. Although my press credentials offered some protection from questioning by law enforcement officers and Awami League activists, many others faced phone checks and searches at roadside checkpoints.

"After the office reopened on Wednesday, I spoke with colleagues about what they had experienced over the previous few days. Several described narrowly escaping violence. One colleague saw three people killed by police gunfire shortly after leaving a mosque. He told me that if he had come out five minutes earlier, he might not have survived."  Bangladesh Bank official 

The city remained under heavy security, with Army and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel deployed at major intersections after dark. Despite the heightened security presence, conversations among colleagues increasingly turned to whether the protests could ultimately force Sheikh Hasina from power.

A Bangladesh Bank official returned to an office where Armoured Personnel Carriers were stationed outside. 

"After the office reopened on Wednesday, I spoke with colleagues about what they had experienced over the previous few days," the official recalled. Several described narrowly escaping violence. "One colleague saw three people killed by police gunfire shortly after leaving a mosque," he said. "He told me that if he had come out five minutes earlier, he might not have survived." 

One of his senior colleagues recounted that a doctor living in their neighbourhood had been shot dead while returning from work and that the body was initially reported missing. Asif said such accounts often gave way to heated discussions among younger colleagues in the office. 

For many office workers, the daily commute had become more difficult. 

With the Metro Rail suspended, advocate Kazi Rakib Hossain relied on limited and often overcrowded buses to travel to work. 

Rakib said his supervisor continued office operations until 6:30pm or 7pm, despite the curfew resuming at 5pm. He said his employer's car carried a Supreme Court sticker, which he believed allowed it to pass police checkpoints without difficulty. As a result, Rakib and his colleagues had to cross military barricades and checkpoints manned by law enforcement personnel as well as members of the Chhatra League and Jubo League while returning home after dark.

He recalled he took precautions before leaving for work each morning. Fearing that police might stop him and inspect his phone, he temporarily archived his Facebook posts and restored them after returning home.

Textile engineer Masud Himu, who commuted from Uttara to a factory in Narayanganj, said he encountered similar conditions. "We saw bricks and stones on the road. Chhatra League and Jubo League members were stationed around the House Building area. The atmosphere was very tense." 

He added that he and his colleagues would join protests every evening after coming from the office.  

Workers in transport and other sectors also experienced significant disruption. Md Sohan Sheikh, a bus driver from Bogura, said he remained stranded at a bus counter in Dhaka for seven days. He compared the experience to being in prison. 

"For seven days, my life was confined to the bus counter," Sohan said. "The combination of the protests and the curfew led to severe food shortages. Proper meals were unavailable, there was no water, and bathing was impossible."

Sohan said even routine tasks became difficult during that period. "Just as I sat down to eat at a hotel, I had to run away. Most of the time, I survived on bread and bananas," he said.

The transport sector also sustained significant financial losses during the shutdown. Industry estimates put the losses at nearly Tk100 crore, while around 200,000 transport workers were left without income as many were employed on trip-based contracts.

In rural districts, the internet shutdown also disrupted livelihoods. Ruhul Amin, who operated a digital service centre in Rajbari, said the outage left him without work. "I had been without any earnings for a couple of days already," he said. 

Because his business depended on internet access for services such as printing photographs, downloading forms, and processing mobile financial transactions, the shutdown brought his income to a halt. "It was a very uncertain situation. It felt like something very scary was coming into our lives," he said.

On the night of 24 July, broadband internet services were restored on a trial basis after five days of shutdown. As connectivity returned, images and videos from the preceding days circulated widely online, prompting renewed discussion, documentation, and mobilisation.