50 injured as cops, RMG workers clash
At least fifty people including four policemen and four journalists were injured as garment workers clashed with cops at Mauna Chowrasta in Sreepur upazila yesterday.
Workers of SQ Celsius Ltd, a concern of SQ Group, blocked Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway for an hour from 6:00 pm to realise their 10-point demand including removal of the administrative chief of the industry, bonus, transportation bill and implementation of labour law.
As police reached the spot to bring the situation under control, demonstrators hurled brickbats on them prompting the law enforcers to charge baton, said witnesses.
At one stage of the clash, police lobbed 29 rounds of teargas canisters and fired 76 rounds from shotgun to disperse the agitating workers.
The clash left scores injured including additional police super of Gazipur Industrial Police, officer-in-charge of Mauna Highway Police Station, a sub inspector of Sreepur Police Station and local correspondents of some newspapers.
Additional Superintendent of Industrial Police Dewan Lalon said garment authorities sat with the workers yesterday morning over their demands which ended without result ensuing vandalism. Later, the workers put barricade on the highway.
The workers also observed work abstention on April 8 over the issue.
Administrative chief of the garment factory Shaheduzzaman Rabin said most of their demands were unreasonable and an important one will be fulfilled soon.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments