10 hurt as BCL, police clash
Moulvibazar BCL chief held, case against 62
At least 10 people, including president of district Chhatra League (BCL) and a police sub-inspector (SI) were injured in a clash between BCL activists and police at an Urs in the town on Monday night.
The incident allegedly followed teasing of women and collection of tolls at the Urs.
According to Moulvibazar Sadar police, Monday was the day of 671st Urs Sharif of Hazrat Shah Mostafa (R) in the town. A large fair arranged on the occasion.
Police said they arrested a youth while teasing a woman at the fair at about 9pm. As police were taking the youth to a police van, a group of BCL leaders and activists tried to snatch him away.
This triggered a clash between police and BCL activists. Panic-stricken people at the fair began to run helter and skelter. In the clash, so far 10 people including police SI Anwar Hussain, police van driver Shafiqul Islam, district BCL president Zakariya Ahmed, and a visitor at the fair Md Nasir, were injured.
Injured van driver was admitted to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital, while Nasir was sent to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.
During the clash, a police van and 10 to 15 shops at the fair were vandalised.
At one stage the BCL men put up barricade on Dhaka-Sylhet highway leaving a huge number of vehicles stranded on both sides of the road.
To control the situation, police charged baton and fired 30 rounds of short gun bullets and arrested 21 people from the spot at about 10pm.
Leaders of district BCL later claimed that police confined one of their activists as he protested toll collection by police at the fair. The BCL president alleged he was assaulted by police when he tried to settle the matter.
Abu Zafar Md Saleh, officer-in-charge (OC) of Moulvibazar Model PS said, some youths were disturbing women at the fair. On duty police detained one of the youths but a few BCL activists tried to snatch him away, he said.
They also attacked police injuring a sub-inspector and a police van driver. The van was also vandalised, he added.
"SI Anwar Hussain has filed a case against 62 people including district BCL president Zakariya Ahmed in this connection," the OC further said.
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