Thousands protest against Bangladesh police after deadly shootings

Thousands protested against police across Bangladesh on Monday, a day after at least four people died when officers fired on a crowd in one of the country's deadliest religious riots to date.

Some 20,000 Muslims called for the execution of a young Hindu man on Bhola island Sunday for writing Facebook messages that allegedly defamed the Prophet Mohammed, with police saying they opened fire after rocks were thrown at officers.

Four people died and nearly 50 were injured, with at least seven in a critical condition in hospital.

Mob attacks over online posts perceived to be blasphemous have emerged as a major headache for security forces in Bangladesh, where Muslims make up some 90 percent of the country's 168 million people.

The deaths sparked a new round of protests late Sunday and on Monday as thousands of Muslims across several cities shouted slogans and called for the officers involved to be put on trial.

"This is not acceptable. Police have illegally and unconstitutionally opened fire on the protesters," 22-year-old madrasa student Mahmudul Hasan told AFP at a rally in the capital Dhaka.

"It is an extrajudicial killing. We seek justice."