Over 23 hurt in police-activists clashes in city

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Police batoncharged the activists of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports in Muktangon area Wednesday while they attempted to besiege the Petrobangla HQ. — FE photo

FE Report
Over 23 people, including four policemen, were injured during a clash between the police and the activists of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports at Muktangan in the city Wednesday.
The police said the clash ensued at noon when the police barred activists of the committee at Bijoynagar in the city as they were moving to besiege Petrobangla headquarters at Karwan Bazar over the government's recent exploration deals with two foreign companies.
When some 500 activists of the committee tried to march towards the state-owned Petrobangla head office by breaking police barriers, the police charged batons and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the agitators turning the area into a battlefield.
The demonstrators also responded to the rude police resistance by hurling brickbats and stones that created a series of clashes between the police and the protestors, leaving over 23 people, including the committee member-secretary Professor Anu Muhammad, injured.
Biplobi Workers Party leader Saiful Haque, Gonotantrik Biplobi Party leader Moshrefa Mishu, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal leader Bazlur Rashid Firoz, Abu Naser Sabuj, Eva Biswas, Roksana Afroz, Sangeeta Barai, Anita, Tania Alam, Afsana Sumi and Tapashi Rabeya Ankhi, among others, were injured in the police attack.
The injured were taken to nearby clinics and Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where they received first aid.
The demonstrators also damaged several vehicles during the half-hour long skirmishes disrupting vehicular movements in the area creating a terrific traffic congestion.
Anu Mohammad, a professor of Economics Department of Jahangirnagar University, told reporters at the DMCH that the police swooped on them and started beating them while they were peacefully observing the programme.