UNB, Dhaka:

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has described how the miscreants carried out massive destruction in BTV Bhaban, one of the key point installations (KPIs), and how they gave death threats giving the law enforcers only 15 minutes time to say bye to their respective families.

Referring to video footages and BGB personnel, he said most of them were not students when they attacked the BTV Bhaban and carried out massive vandalism.

“First one of the BGB teams rushed to the spot on which they tried to attack. The second team also rushed to the spot. They were in discussion,” said the foreign secretary, adding that they went to close to the miscreants physically taking the risk.

Masud Momen, while talking to the reporters after briefing development partners on Thursday said the BGB members went there to protect the KPI.

“The language the attackers hurled at the BGB members was very indecent. You can’t take it. Even they pushed the BGB members physically,” he said.

The miscreants vandalised their vehicle and set it on fire.

The foreign secretary said taking permission from the magistrate there, the BGB team leader opened blank fires first.

“But it was seen that they (attackers) were approaching the BGB members from all sides. They said you (BGB members) are given 15 minutes time to say bye to your family members. You need to embrace death,” Masud said.

At this stage, he said, the BGB personnel were ready to open fires but their team leaders did not allow it.

The team leader himself shot at legs and there were some injuries, said the foreign secretary, adding that otherwise, it would not have been possible to save BTV from complete destruction. “Now it has been partially protected.”

The foreign secretary on Wednesday said the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) did not open fire from helicopters though fake information was being circulated.

He said they have received video evidence that the RAB did not open fire from helicopters which they will share. “We became sure that RAB didn’t open fires from helicopters.”

“Finally, things will be cleared through proper investigation. We want fair investigation into each death,” said the foreign secretary on Thursday.

Videos related to the violence were also shown to the diplomats.

“We have presented the latest information to them and shown videos. As we have reported, the RAB did not fire from the helicopter. Besides, I have highlighted the role of BGB and police during the movement. We have provided the video to them also,” the foreign secretary said.

Diplomats from 22 countries including the United Kingdom, United States, China, Japan, Sweden, Qatar, Denmark, Switzerland, India, Russia, Canada, Australia, France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, European Union, and the representatives from the United Nations attended the briefing.

PM’s Press Secretary M Nayeemul Islam Khan also joined the briefing.

Despite repeated assurances of appropriate measures by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through a televised address on 17 July 2024, the BNP-Jamaat combine instigated unrest and violence among a section of the student community by provoking inflammatory rhetoric and slogans, including by distorting the Prime Minister’s words at a Press Conference (on 14 July 2024), MoFA said.

The situation soon spiralled out of control of the protesting students, and led to unprecedented levels of violence, anarchy and brutalities that can only be termed as terrorist activities.

These resulted in the most tragic and egregious loss of a number of civilian lives, including some young people and minors, MoFA said recently.

It has now surfaced that the perpetrators of the terror attacks were given assurance of “bounty” for killing law enforcement personnel and ruling party affiliates, the government said.

There were calculated attacks against a number of Key Point Installations and other public properties, notably metro rail stations and elevated expressway; public health facilities; disaster management office; national broadcasting facility like Bangladesh Television headquarters; firefighting vehicles, and digital connectivity including national data center, central broadband infrastructure and optical fibre networks.

The targeted breaching of a high-security prison and setting free nine convicted militants were part of an attempt to roll back the decade-long gains in containing terrorism and violent extremism, MoFA said.