The Banshkhali power plant movement was a 2016 protest movement against a Bangladeshi-Chinese consortium's acquisition of agricultural lands, graveyards and homes to build a coal-based power plant in the Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Clashes between protesters and police officers killed four (according to police) or five people (according to protesters). According to the protesters, four more people went missing after the clash with police. Background In February 2016, the Bangladesh Power Development Board signed an agreement to begin purchasing electricity from a consortium of two companies—the Bangladesh-based S. Alam Group of Industries and the China-based Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III—in November 2019 (when the consortium's planned coal plant would be operational). Experts warned about the environmental impact of a new coal plant, and protests began on March 19, 2016 (shortly after the agreement was signed). Protests turned violent in March 2016 when mercenaries hired by the company opened fire on a protest march opposing the power station. Several people were injured. The mercenaries were linked with the governing Bangladesh Awami League and the Power Development Board. Amid the protests, the power board began acquiring land by force with the help of local Bangladesh Awami League leaders. On April 2, 2016, when the owners and engineers of the coal-based power plant attempted to visit the construction site, protesters swooped down on the officials' motorcade. Police cracked down on the protesters, arresting seven. Angry at the arrests, local residents called for a public gathering on April 4. Awami League leaders called a meeting at the same place on the same day. Local police invoked a Section 144 law restricting public gatherings in the area. When local residents gathered on April 4 to protest, police opened fire and killed at least five people. It was the largest loss of life in an anti-coal protest since the murder of six people in Jharkhand, India. Agreements On October 31, 2013, the S. Alam Group of Industries was authorised by the Awami League government to build two coal-fired power plants in Chittagong's Banshkhali Upazila despite the lack of an environmental impact assessment. In December, the group (one of Bangladesh's fastest-growing conglomerates) signed an agreement with China-based energy company Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III for a coal-based power plant. On February 16, 2016, the government signed an agreement to purchase power from the plant (which has a capacity of 1.22 MW) at ৳6.61 per