RMG worker’s killing sparks violence at Ashulia

Polashbari area of Ashulia saw violence Saturday morning as infuriated garment workers vandalised vehicles and put barricades on the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road after a fellow worker was killed in a road accident in front of his work place in Savar.
Hundreds of garment workers took to the street and went on the rampage, blocking the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road and disrupting all kinds of vehicular traffic movement for about one-and-a-half hours till 10:00 am.
Apprehending trouble, the management of some adjacent factories, including the troubled one, announced general holiday as a group of agitated workers also tried to attack some factories by pelting stones.
Eye-witnesses and the police said a speeding bus of Polash Paribahan at the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir Road ran over sewing operator Selim Ahmed, 22, of Pearl Garments Ltd, a sister concern of the Epic Group, located at Polashbari at around 8:30am, leaving him dead on the spot.
On hearing the news of the death of a fellow worker, hundreds of unruly workers went on the rampage and put barricades on the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road, causing severe traffic gridlock on both sides of the trouble spot.
A huge contingent of the police, RAB and the army personnel rushed to the scene and repeatedly asked the unruly workers to withdraw the blockade, but instead the workers divided into small groups tried to attack some adjacent factories and asked the workers of those factories to join them.
As the law enforcers tried to disperse the angry workers and charged batons on them, the workers countered the assault by pelting stones on them, leaving at least eight policemen injured.
When the situation further deteriorated, more of the police, RAB, Armed Police Battalion and army personnel rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control.
The body of the deceased was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for post-mortem, and the traffic movement on the road was resumed.
Officer-in-charge of the Ashulia police station Mohammad Sirazul Islam told The Independent, “We managed to bring the situation under control after assuring the protestors that we will arrest the killer driver and helper by 24 hours.”

Courtesy of The Independent