Dhaka:A Dhaka court has ordered the imprisonment of 26 individuals in connection with violence that erupted during a garment workers' protest in the Mirpur area of the capital. The incidents involved attacks on police, vandalism, and arson.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the court's decision came after the individuals were implicated in three separate cases concerning the unrest. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Kalam Uddin ordered the detention of 13 people under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Pallabi Police Station. Additionally, seven others were jailed under the Explosive Substances Act and various sections of the Penal Code. In a separate ruling, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam ordered the incarceration of six individuals in a case filed with Mirpur Model Police Station.
The legal actions followed allegations that during a protest on November 1, a large crowd gathered in Mirpur-12, where they clashed with police forces. The protesters, numbering between 2,000 and 2,500, reportedly exploded cocktails and set fire to a police vehicle. Law enforcement officials recovered exploded cocktail remnants and petrol-filled bottles from the area. It was claimed that members of the banned Awami League and its associate bodies were present among the protesters.
In another incident at the Mirpur-10 round-about, between 3,000 and 4,000 workers from nearby garment factories gathered, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000. Despite police efforts to disperse the crowd with assurances of a wage board formation, tensions escalated, resulting in the vandalism of a traffic police box and injuries to a police officer, Samia, who was struck by brickbats. In response, police deployed sound grenades and teargas to restore order.