A 5-year-old child and three teenagers also died, he said.
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The crushed happened when more than 1,500 people gathered outside a chewing tobacco factory to collect free clothing in Mymensingh, 115 km (70 miles) north of the capital.
Factory safety has been a major issue in Bangladesh since the collapse of a clothing manufacturing complex in April 2013 that left more than 1,100 people dead, making it one of the worst industrial accidents in history. “That’s why the stampede occurred”, said Islam.
Ambia Begum, 45, arrived at the giveaway at dawn, along with seven female family members.
But one zakat clothes seeker, Zamila Khatun, alleged that workers of Shamim’s factory, where he pays poor wages, had swooped down on them with batons and triggered the stampede.
With over 30 percent of Bangladesh’s 160 million people living below the poverty line, deadly stampedes for free clothes are common during Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, which ends with Eid-ul-Fitr.
Police have reportedly detained eight people in connection with the stampede, including the owner of the factory where the clothes were distributed and his son.
“Oh Allah, why did I come here?”
Rich Bangladeshis often distribute free clothes to poor people during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Eleven bodies were taken to a state-run hospital while relatives took away the rest of the dead bodies for burial, the police official said. He added 50 others were undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
Authorities concerned have expressed “regret” over the loss of life and blamed the organisers of the charity handout.
“He stages this showoff every year in the name of zakat”, a neighbour said.
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The religious affairs ministry and district administration separately announced to give Tk 10,000 to each victim’s families, said ANM Faizul Haque, upazila nirbahi officer of Mymensingh sadar upazila.
