4 killed, 50 injured as Bangladesh police fire at people protesting 'Blasphemous' Fb post

Dhaka, Oct 20: At least four people were killed and 50 others injured as Bangladesh police on Sunday opened fire on hundreds of Muslims protesting against an alleged blasphemous Facebook post by a Hindu man.

The violence erupted in the morning after hundreds of Muslims gathered in south-western Bhola district, 116 kilometres from Dhaka, for a protest rally under the banner of 'Muslim Tawhidi Janata', demanding action against the Hindu man for his social media comments against Prophet Mohammed.

The Hindu man, who is in police's protective custody, has denied making the comment, saying his Facebook account had been hacked.

Following a complaint by him, police detained three people for allegedly hacking his Facebook account.

According to reports, village elders were holding a meeting with local authorities on Sunday to try to defuse the tensions that began on Friday after the Facebook post went viral. But the protesters started attacking security officials, prompting them to retaliate.