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Tongi erupts in violence

2 killed, over 100 injured as RMG workers clash with cops after protests against factory closure, non-payment of wages

Wasim Bin Habib amt Shaheen Mollah
At least two persons were killed and 100 others injured including 15 police per sonnet in Tongi yesterday in a string of clashes between the law enforcers and several hundred garment workers who were protesting sudden closure of their factory without payment of arrears.
Confirming the deaths. Second Officer oflbngi Police Station Zahidul Islam said one of the dead was identified as Bablu Sheikh, a rickshaw van puller, whose wife Roksana works at the factory.
He said Bablu received bullets when, hearing the news of the clash, he went
near the factory to look for his wife.
Roksana had also told reporters in the afternoon that her husband died when he came to the factory during the clashes to save her.
The other deceased aged around 48 could not be identified.
A number of workers and locals claimed that police killed several workers inside the factory of Nippon Garments Industries Ltd at Ershadnagar of Tongi although they could not specify the names of those killed.
Locals showed reporters and police bits of brains they claimed to be of humans in pools blood near the entrance of the factory.
The law enforcers fired rubber bullets, shotgun and teargas canisters during the four-hour-long clashes to disperse the agitating workers. The police claimed that the workers and locals hurled brickbats and homemade bombs at them.
The protesters also torched a staff bus of another garment factory and vandalised four vehicles.
Communication on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway remained suspended for about five hours from 8:00am, causing severe traffic congestion. Vehicular movement normalised around 1:00pm.
T\velvc persons with bullet injuries were rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital while others were taken to local hospitals and clinics.
The home ministry will hold an emergency meeting with officials of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association jit 11 -.00am at the ministry to find out the causes behind yesterday's clash.
Witnesses said the clash erupted at about 8:00am when several hundred workers of Nippon garment factory tried ’ to enter the factory, defying police barricade at the entrance.
The factory authority' had hung on the main gate a notice of closure of the factory from October 31 to November 29 because of 'global recession and some unwanted incidents".
The notice also asked workers to collect their dues from the factory office on November 10.
When the agitating workers. mostly females, tussled with police personnel to enter the factory yesterday, the law enforcers resisted them and at one stage charged truncheons to disperse the protesters.
The angry workers along with locals of Ershadnagar area blocked the highway and torched the bus and vandalised several vehicles.
Ali Asgar. driver of the torched bus. told The Daily Star that the agitating workers intercepted the bus in front of the factory and set it on fire.
The police charged trun-1 cheons on them again, which prompted the protesters to retaliate with brickbats.
A team of police then fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters. At one stage, they entered the Ershadnagar area and clashes ensued.
Locals alleged that the police ransacked their houses and shops and tortured many innocent people who had no involvement in the incident.
A worker told The Daily Star that they wanted to enter the factory to know from the authority why they closed the factory without paying their arrears. 'But the police barred us and charged truncheons on us which caused the clashes, he said.
Mohammad .Akter, a class Hl student, sustained bullets in the abdomen and arms during the clash when he went out of his house to look for his mother who is a worker of the factory.
"Hearing gunshots, I came out of the house to find my mother but all of a sudden 1 received the bullets,' he told The Daily Star at DMCH.
A few family members of the workers tried to enter the factory in the afternoon tn t search of their missing rela-* lives who, they said, had not returned home or made any contact since going to the factory.
Police kept around 13 locals and male workers tied to pillars of a nearby footbridge.
Many people claimed that the police killed several workers and locals The law enforcers either took the dead bodies to another place secretly or hid those inside the factory, they said.
Rajab, a resident ot Ershadnagar slum, said, "The law enforcers killed those who got trapped inside the factory compound."
However, none could specify identities of the alleged dead ones.
Lawmaker of the area Awami League leader Zahid Hasan Russell visited the three-storey factory building along with 10 workers to look for dead bodies but found none.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun visited DMCH around 6.00pm and expressed grief over the incident. Talking to reporters later, she said, "We will form a probe committee to ensure trial of the culprits behind the incident."
Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad and Director General of Rapid Action Battalion Hassan Mahmood Khandaker visited the spot yesterday around 1:30pm.
Talking to the reporters in front of the factory, the 1GP said they did not receive any confirmation of death.
He said three policemen were admitted to Rajarbagh Police Line Hospital in a critical condition.
Asked if there could be any instigation behind the incident, he said they had often observed instigations behind such incidents for the last couple of years.
Garment worker Kamruzzaman said the volume of work in the factory decreased in the last one month while payment of salaries had become irregular for several months.
He said the factory authority paid the salary for the month of September on October 22 and the overtime arrears for three months even later although it was supposed to be paid on October 24.
"The workers became aggrieved as the arrears were not disbursed in time," he said. Against this backdrop, the factory authorities held a meeting with about 100 workers on Friday evening, he added.
At the meeting. Manjur Morshed, one of the directors of the factory, told the workers that the factory has been receiving fewer work orders and that the situation would continue for some time.
Kamruzzaman told The Daily Star that Manjur had asked the workers not to cause any unrest in the factory and assured them of paying the dues.
A number of workers, who were present at the meeting, alleged that the authorities deceived them by not informing them about the closure. The authorities suddenly closed the factory to deprive them of their dues, they added.
The Daily Star could not reach the authorities after repeated attempts.
Superintended of Police SM Mahfuzul Haque said the unwanted incident erupted because of the sudden closure of the factory.
He said the workers forcefully entered the factory and started hurling brickbats at the police. The law enforcers opened fired on the workers to save themselves.
The SP claimed that the incident left 16 of both the sides injured.
He said the factory authorities had sent a letter to Tongi Police Station about the closure but they could not make proper preparations.
Tongi police are preparing to file a case in connection with the clashes.