Three people suffered pellet injuries as police fired shotguns and tear gas shells in Ashulia during a clash with RMG workers demonstrating demanding a hike in their wage.
One of the injured was identified as Amirul Islam, a rickshaw-van driver, and the two others were RMG workers but their names and other details could not be known immediately.
According to eyewitnesses and locals, the garment workers tried to block Bypail-Abdullahpur road in Jamgara area around 8:00am.
When police chased the workers, they took position in a nearby lane from where they started throwing brick chips at the law enforcers, locals said.
Police later fired tear gas shells, rubber bullets and pellets to disperse workers, leaving three people injured.
The three were rushed to Nari O Shishu Hospital with “splinter” injuries, Joy Bhattacharjo, a physician of the hospital, told The Daily Star. Among the injured, Amirul was undergoing treatment at the hospital while two others will be referred to Dhaka Medical Hospital for better treatment, he said
While talking to reporters at the hospital, Amirul said he was injured when he was passing through Jamgora area with a passenger.
Reazul Haque, officer-in-charge of Dhaka District North DB Police, told The Daily Star that police fire bullets in the air when the workers threw brick chips at them. But no one was injured, the OC said.
Mahmud Naser Johnny, Additional Superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, told The Daily Star that workers were trying to block the road.
When police tried to convince the workers to free the road, they threw bricks at the police, he said.
Police used tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse them but the situation is normal now, the police officer added.
After over a week of labour protest, the garment factory owners were set to reopen nearly 500 production units in Ashulia, Konabari, Gazipur, Mirpur, Mouchak and Savar today. The factories were closed due to the unrest.
Garment workers have been demonstrating demanding a hike in their wage as prices of daily commodities and house rent went up abnormally and the time has come for a revision of their salary.
Daily Star
