Hundreds of small investors fought running battles with police at Motijheel and its surroundings in Dhaka and also staged violent protests elsewhere in the country on Monday after the Securities and Exchange Commission stopped trading amid the biggest crash in the country’s capital market history.
The SEC, scrambling to find a way out of the mess, halted trade at around 11:50am after the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange slumped by 660 points and that of Chittagong Stock Exchange by 914 points.
The trading will resume today, said SEC chairman Ziaul Haque Khandkar.
The Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman held an emergency meeting with commercial banks and asked them to invest in the capital market. The central bank assured them that it would be lenient if the banks go beyond the limits of their investment in the market.
The unprecedented fall in share prices prompted the angry demonstrations by small investors who marched towards the Dhaka Stock Exchange in dozens of processions from across the city and swarmed Motijheel, the country’s business hub, shouting slogans against the finance minister, the market regulators, the central bank and the government. The protesters damaged several vehicles at Motijheel, threw stones and fought pitched battles with police putting barricades on the road in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, in Hatkhola crossing, Motijheel roundabout, Dainik Bangla crossing and Purana Paltan crossing.
Police in riot gear used batons and fired tear gas to break up the demonstrations in the area where police remained deployed with water cannons since Sunday anticipating the troubles after the index fell 600 points.
Amid the protests, the SEC sat in an emergency meeting with the bourses and leaders of merchant bankers’ association to discuss ways to bring back normalcy in the behaviour of the market where 260 companies are listed.
The market regulatory body later in the afternoon issued a number of directives, including an increase in margin loans to encourage investors to buy shares.
After the meeting, SEC chairman Ziaul Haque Khandkar told the reporters that the SEC had issued all necessary directives so that the market behaves positively and investors stop panic selling of shares.
‘I call upon the investors to have patience because we hope the market would start behaving positively by Tuesday,’ he said.
Fakhar Uddin Ali, president of Chittagong Stock Exchange, said, ‘The SEC, bourses and merchant banks are working together to restore the investors’ confidence in the capital market.’
‘Bangladesh Bank also relaxed some rules to increase the flow of credit in the market,’ he added.
Even journalists covering the events at Motijheel and Dilkusha were not spared from the police attack. Four journalists – Sima Bhowmik of ABC News, Abdullahil Waris of Prothom Alo, HM Mortuza of Sheershanews, Mamun of Daily Punjibazar and Mahfuz of Amader Somoy – were injured in the police action.
Helal, an investor was picked up by police from in front of the DSE building at around midday and later he was released.
Witnesses said more than 100 investors sustained injuries during the clashes with police. They burned used tyres and garbage in front of the DSE, at Hatkhola and Dainik Bangla crossing and vandalised scores of vehicles.
Being chased by police, the protesters entered different buildings at Motijheel and climbed on to the rooftops and threw handwritten leaflets demanding resignation of the finance minister, chairmen of SEC, DSE and CSE, and the governor of Bangladesh Bank.
Panic gripped the entire business hub and many other areas as traffic halted in downtown triggering tailbacks across the city.
Investors also took to the streets in Mirpur circle 10 intersection, Uttara, Karwanbazar and in suburban Savar and Narayanganj.
Angry investors blocked all the roads at Mirpur for about one hour and a half hour before police dispersed them. The protesters attacked and damaged some vehicles there.
They blocked Jasimuddin Road at Uttara and also Dhaka-Aricha highway at Savar but police quickly dispersed them.
New Age correspondent in Chittagong reported that several hundred investors ringed the Chittagong Stock Exchange protesting against the share price fall.
They continued demonstrations blocking the busy Agrabad area till 2:00pm causing traffic congestions in the city.
The investors staged protests until police cleared the road at 2:00pm.
The chief executive officer of CSE, Abdullah Mamun, told New Age that the demonstrators dispersed after holding talks with the CSE officials.
In Rajshahi city, investors brought out a huge procession from the Investment Corporation at Bangladesh Trade Centre and held a rally at Saheb Bazar Zero Point.
They blocked Rajshahi-Natore highway in Saheb Bazar for an hour disrupting traffic.
The investors also locked up the offices of 10 brokerages in the city.
Several hundred investors in Sylhet staged demonstrations to protest at the continued downtrend in capital market.
They besieged RN Tower which houses the local offices of DSE and CSE, in the city’s Chowhatta area and marched towards the Sylhet Branch of Bangladesh Bank.
The angry investors hurled stones at the Sylhet branch of the central bank before police dispersed them.
Police in Comilla halted the aggrieved investors on their way to Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Paduar Bazar, triggering clashes that left two investors and one policeman injured.
Police charged batons to break up the protest and arrested nine demonstrators at the spot.
Several thousand investors staged demonstrations in front of the Narayanganj Press Club over record fall in share prices at Dhaka Stock Exchange on Monday.
The investors also set fire to used tyres in streets and ransacked two brokerages near Aman Bhaban in the town at about 10:00am, forcing the brokerages to shut down.
Police charged batons on agitating investors in Narsingdi town leaving at least 15 people injured.
Police and local sources said several hundred investors blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.
Investors in Barisal held a rally outside brokerage houses demanding immediate intervention by the government to restore normalcy in the stock market.
They blamed unwanted interference by the Bangladesh Bank in financial institutions and stock market for the mess and accused SEC, DSE and CSE officials of collusion with illegal cartels.
