Two workers were shot when garment workers took to the streets in Dhaka’s Mirpur-14 area on Thursday and clashed with police and military personnel, throwing stones and setting fire to two army and police vehicles.
The injured were identified as Al Amin, 17, son of Abdur Rahman, and Jhuma Akter, 15. Al Amin sustained bullet injuries in his back while Jhuma in her right leg.
The area was effectively shut down as the protest spiraled into chaos, disrupting local traffic.
Garment workers, reportedly numbering between 4,000 and 5,000, gathered in the Kachukhet area earlier this morning, demanding payment of their dues.
According to Shah Mohammad Faisal, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Bhashantek Police Station, workers continued to demonstrate even after management agreed to meet their demands, ultimately leading to the closure of several factories.
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Attempts by police and military forces to disperse the crowd were met with fierce resistance, as demonstrators hurled stones at law enforcement officials. In response, police resorted to batons to control the crowd. However, the situation escalated, leading protesters to vandalize and set fire to two vehicles belonging to the police and army.
The law enforcing agencies also fired several gunshots to disperse them, leaving the two garment workers injured.
The injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
The situation took a drastic turn, transforming the usually bustling Kachukhet area into what locals described as a “battlefield.” The fire service was alerted at 9:53 am, with two units arriving swiftly to extinguish the flames on the damaged vehicles.
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Two fire service units were dispatched immediately, and they managed to control the fires on both the military vehicle and the police transport, said Lima Khanam, the duty officer at the fire service control room.
The clash eventually subsided by 10 am, with the protesters dispersing and the area slowly returning to a tense calm.