DHAKA NEWS
Over 100 people were injured as several thousand garment workers fought pitched battle with police in Ashulia industrial belt near the capital for the second straight day on Sunday.
Production at over 100 garment factories situated beside the Dhaka-Tangail highway stretching from Jamgorah to Narasinghapur were suspended fearing vandalism, said Mostafa Kamal, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Ashulia Police Station.
The marauding workers also vandalised around 50 vehicles as soon as they took to the highway around 9:00am.
Traffic movement on the highway however resumed around four hours.
The clash started from the Ha-Meem Group as its disgruntled workers blocked the highway to know the whereabouts of Salman, a storekeeper of the group's Artistic Design Ltd, and to protest the death of a garment worker in a road accident during Saturday clash.
Ashulia industrial belt area turned to a battleground around 10:00am when the workers of other adjacent factories joined the agitating workers.
Following the violence, the law enforcers rushed to Narasinghapur, the scene of the violence, to bring the situation under control, said Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Meer Fasiur Rahman, also the assistant director of Ashulia Industrial Police.
The workers demonstrated blocking the highway and setting fire to tyres and other roadside abandoned things as they did not find Salman in the factory.
They locked in clashes with police when law enforcers tried to disperse them from the highway.
Police, in a bid to remove them from the highway, fired nearly 1000 rubber bullets and charged truncheons on them, leaving at least 100 workers injured.
As the situation deteriorated, the authorities of nearly 100 garment factories suspend the production for Sunday.
To control the situation, nearly 1000 law enforcers including Rapid Action Battalion, Industrial police, Armed Police Battalion (APBn) were deployed on the area.
At one stage, Ashulia police produced Salman before the agitating workers around 1:00pm in a bid to control the situation.
The situation eased following the action of law enforcers, closure of factories and as Salman appeared before the workers around 1:00pm.
In this situation, the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will hold a press briefing at its office at 7:00pm to disclose their stance.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, at least 100 people including 10 police personnel were injured and production in around 350 garment factories remained suspended in Ashulia industrial belt following rumours of Salman's death.
During the clashes, Kamrun Nahar Golapi, 30, an operative of Opex Sweater Factory, was run over and killed by a bus at Jamgorah when the workers were chased by police.
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