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Price Hike

Cops foil lefts' token hunger strike

Staff Correspondent
Police yesterday foiled a token hunger strike programme organ Iscd by the Democratic Left Alliance (DLA) and snatched ban ners and placards carried by its members.
Activists claimed that the police, at one stage of the intervention, baton charged the procession as they were leaving the venue of the programme -- a charge denied by the police.
DLA, an alliance of 11 left leaning parties including Bangladesher Workers Party, Bangladesh Somajtantrik Dal and Jatiya Ganofront had earlier called for the three-hour long token hunger strike, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Paltan to protest price hike of essentials.
Accordingly, around 100 leaders and activists of the alliance
gathered in front of the Communist Party's Paltan office al 10:00 am yesterday for the programme.
A contingent of police including the assistant commissioner ol Motijheel and officer-in-charge ol the Paltan police station had been deployed in the area beforehand.
Members of the law enforcement agency at one point snatched away banners and placards from protesting activists and forced them to leave the place, telling them that they cannot hold a hungerstrike there.
Police then tried to bar the gathered leaders and activists from marching towards DLA'sTopkhana Road office to stage die protest there.
Pedestrians spontaneously joined the march protesting the price hike and demanding availability of essentials at lower prices while the DLA leaders and activists moved towards its office at Topkhana.
DLA leaders and activists claim that at one point, the police charged baton on a section of the marching crowd.
Assistant Sub-Inspector of Paltan police station has however denied the allegation.
"We just requested them to leave the place and not stage their protest as such programmes are not allow ed under the Emergency Powers Act," ASI Shajahan of Paltan police station toIdThe Daily Star last night.
The police didn't attack the crowd, he said.
Communist Party of Bangladesh and Workers Party have criticised the police interference at the DLA programme and the attack on the crowd.
Zonayed Saki, Comrade Tipu Biswas, Abdullah Sarker, Saiful Haq, advocate Abdus Salam, Moshrefa Mishu, Abdul Matin Talukder, Hamidul Haq, Babul Biswas, among others, were present at the protest.