Police say several of those arrested are leaders and activists of the activities-banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations.
Garment workers seen pelting bricks during clashes with police as they take to the streets in Mirpur-10, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 on 1 November 2026. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
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Garment workers seen pelting bricks during clashes with police as they take to the streets in Mirpur-10, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 on 1 November 2026. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
Police have filed five cases over attacks on law enforcers, vandalism of a traffic police box, crude bomb explosions and the torching of a police vehicle during garment workers’ protests in Mirpur, Dhaka, arresting 60 people over the past two days.
Some of the arrested are suspected activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations, police said.
Hasan Mohammad Naser Rikabdar, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Mirpur Division, told The Business Standard today (2 November) that three cases were filed with Pallabi Police Station and one each with Mirpur Model and Rupnagar police stations.
More than 11,000 unidentified people have been named as accused. Another case is being prepared at Kafrul Police Station, he added.
Police allege that Awami League activists joined the protests to create instability, exploding crude bombs and using petrol to set fire to a police vehicle. Officers recovered bomb fragments and two plastic bottles containing petrol from the scene.
Rikabdar said some detainees were preliminarily identified as activists of the banned party, while others were being identified.
Police allege Awami League links
On Sunday, the Detective Branch (DB) arrested 11 people, all of whom its Mirpur deputy commissioner Mohammad Rakib Khan identified as Awami League and affiliate organisation activists.
He told TBS they were grassroots activists from Barishal, Patuakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Gaibandha and other districts. Alif Molla, nephew of former Dhaka-16 MP Ilias Uddin Mollah, had brought them to Dhaka to carry out sabotage amid the protests, he alleged.
Uttara West Police also arrested Rajib Chandra Das from a house near Paragon Field in Uttara’s Sector 9 on Sunday night over the police vehicle arson. He was later handed over to Pallabi Police Station.
Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station, told TBS that Das had admitted to setting fire to the vehicle in a Facebook post and was found to have links to Bangladesh Chhatra League. Pallabi police are investigating the matter.
Protests continue amid tension
Garment workers have been demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. Workers blocked roads in Mirpur on Thursday and Saturday, during which two garment factories and a shopping mall were vandalised.
Sunday’s road blockade led to clashes after protesters threw bricks and stones at police. Officers responded with water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades. Protesters also vandalised a traffic police box and set fire to a police vehicle.
Workers attempted another blockade today, gathering in Mirpur-2 and Mirpur-14 around 9am to march towards the Mirpur-10 roundabout. Police dispersed them with tear gas and chased them away.
Around 10:30am, protesters vandalised Sirajganj Fashion Ltd and Deshwan Apparels in Mirpur-2’s Borobagh area. Officials of the factories said they were targeted because production continued during the demonstrations.
Additional police were deployed at Mirpur-10 and other locations. Traffic remained normal, but police stayed on alert, with water cannons and armoured vehicles kept ready at the roundabout.
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