Ex-Proshika chief’s men attack staff, office: 20 injured

At least 20 employees of Proshika were injured on their way to office yesterday in separate attacks carried out in Mirpur by hired men of the NGO’s expelled chief Qazi Faruque Ahmed.
Mohammad Abdur Rob, director of microcredit programme of Proshika’s new management, however claimed that around 50 Proshika employees sustained injuries in the attacks.
Two of the severely injured were admitted to city’s Samarita Hospital and others to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
The employees said the attackers were mostly unknown faces.
They alleged that police played a silent role during the attacks. “So many people would not have been hurt had the police played due role,” said Lutfunnessa Helen, senior programme officer of Proshika.
Senior Accounts Coordinator of the NGO Md Alauddin alleged that Faruque’s followers including former Proshika employees Nargis Jahan Banu, Abu Sayeed, Arun Saha, Rita, Sheikh Shahid and Dulal Chandra Dey moved to Proshika office from the Mirpur section-6 kitchen market under police protection.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Qazi Faruque said his men would continue the “agitation” until they take over the office.
He claimed himself to be the legal chairman of the NGO. “I became chairman of Proshika at the AGM [annual general meeting] held on June 6. I got 39 out of 55 votes,” he said.
Faruque, meanwhile, suffered a heart attack around 1:00pm yesterday and was admitted to National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh at Mirpur.
Proshika’s Senior Accounts Coordinator Md Alauddin said Faruque’s men had been waiting at the Mirpur section-6 kitchen market, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur-10 and other points around 7:00am. “They injured at least four employees on their way to office at that time,” he said.
Later, the criminals took position near the Proshika office at Mirpur section-10 and attacked employees including women with sticks and brickbats when they were entering the office. They broke open the concrete boundary wall near gate no-1 of the Proshika office and other points.
Proshika employees also took position in front of the main entry and on the rooftop and retaliated the attacks with brickbats.
Habibur Rahman, an employee of the NGO, said he was going to office from Tongi when attackers waiting near the stadium swooped on him all on a sudden. “I recognised Afzal Sayeed, who was recently dismissed from Proshika, but rest of the goons were unfamiliar,” he said.
“We informed the police immediately after our injured colleagues arrived at the office but the law enforcers did not show up in two hours,” Habib said.
“The police arrived at the scene around 10:00am but the criminals continued their attacks in their presence,” he said. “The police remained silent until the media arrived.”
Proshika’s Senior Programme Officer Anwarul Azim was found bleeding from the nose and lying unconscious on the first floor of the Proshika office. His colleagues could not take him to hospital fearing attacks outside.
Injured Azizul Haq, a central coordinator of Proshika, and Nazibul Haq were also languishing in severe pain at the NGO office.
A female employee from Moghbazar area reached the office at 9:30am. She said, “All hell broke loose around the Proshika office within minutes I entered the office.” She also accused police of arriving late at the scene and remaining silent.
However, Chowdhury Monjurul Kabir, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who is in additional charge of DMP Mirpur zone, said, “The situation would have been worse had the police not played its role.”
Replying to a question, he said police did not arrest anybody in connection with yesterday’s incident.
THE EXPELLED CHIEF
The governing body of Proshika, a leading NGO with 220 offices across the country and more than 5,000 employees, removed Qazi Faruque on May 24 and appointed advocate Abdul Wadud as the organisation’s chairman.
Faruque filed a case with the first assistant judge’s court on May 27 challenging the decision but the court rejected the petition on May 31. Faruque filed an appeal with the district judge’s court on June 1, which was also rejected on June 6. He then filed a civil revision case with the High Court, which is scheduled to hear the case today.
Qazi Faruque unleashed yesterday’s attacks in apprehension of losing the legal battle again, said Modasser Hossain of Proshika’s education programme.
Chief executive of Proshika’s newly formed management Mahbub Ul Karim said he had told the police of his apprehension of possible attacks by Faruque’s men.
Faruque along with his son Rubayet Ahmed proceeded with a procession of around 40 men at 12 noon.
Wearing a helmet, Faruque was instructing his men to break open gate-2 of the Proshika office and enter. Employees of the NGO started pelting brickbats at the attackers from the rooftop. The mob got dispersed immediately while Faruque was running for a cover.
Around 1:00pm, Faruque was learnt to have suffered a heart attack and get admitted to National Heart Foundation.
Duty doctor Shajia Afrin at the hospital’s coronary care unit said the state of Qazi Faruque was stable following a primary angioplasty. She said Faruque had reported with a heart attack because of a block in the heart.
Modasser Hossain of Proshika’s education programme said they spent the last two Fridays at the office to protect the organisation from possible attacks by Faruque’s men.
“Most of the attackers were hired goons and local slum dwellers, including teenage youths and even children who cannot be Proshika employees in any way,” he said.
Some 300 men took part in the attacks. They include former Proshika employees Nargis Jahan Banu, Rubayet Ahmed, Dulal Dey, Afzal Hossain, Sheikh Shahid, Abu Sayeed, Arun Saha, Khadiza Siddiqa Rita, Anwar Hossain, Jalal Uddin, Mohibul Alam, Fouzia Khanam, Dasharath, Abul Bashar, Abdul Jabbar and former Proshika central coordinator Fazlul Haq.
Nargis Jahan, a former director and one of the close aides to Faruque, said, “We just wanted to take possession of the office, we did not hurt anyone.”

Courtesy of The Daily Star