19 detained after garment workers clash with police in Mirpur

At least 19 people were detained after garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000 clashed with police in Mirpur today (1 November), disrupting traffic and metro rail services for two hours.

The clashes broke out after workers blocked the Mirpur-10 roundabout around 9:30am, bringing traffic on the busy road to a halt and causing problems for commuters, office-goers and students.

Police repeatedly asked the protesters to clear the road and gave them until 11am to do so. As they refused to leave, police attempted to disperse them by force around 11:15am, triggering clashes.

Protesters threw bricks and stones at police, who responded with batons, tear gas, sound grenades and water cannons. At one point, protesters set fire to a police vehicle beneath the Mirpur-11 metro rail station.

The protesters eventually dispersed following police action. The situation became calm around 2pm, and traffic gradually resumed.

Hassan Mohammad Naser Rikabdar, deputy commissioner of DMP’s Mirpur Division, said police had asked the workers to clear the road after they began the blockade in the morning.

“Instead of clearing the road, they appeared ready to attack us with sticks. We dispersed them, but did not physically assault anyone. Later, after they set fire to a police vehicle, we used tear gas and sound grenades,” he told reporters after the clashes.

Meanwhile, metro rail services at Mirpur-10, Mirpur-11 and Pallabi stations remained suspended from noon to 2pm. No trains stopped at the three stations during this period. Services resumed after the situation returned to normal.

Mohammad Mohsin Sheikh, inspector (investigation) of MRT Police, told TBS that the stations were temporarily closed for security reasons following the clashes between workers and police.

“After remaining closed for two hours, operations at the stations resumed,” he said.

Police detained 19 people in connection with the incident. Of them, 11 were detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of police and eight by DMP’s Mirpur Division. Police said the detainees were activists of banned political organisations.

Speaking to TBS around 8pm, DC Rikabdar confirmed that 19 people had been detained and said legal action was being taken against them.

Mohammad Rakib Khan, deputy commissioner of DB’s Mirpur Division, told TBS that the detainees were activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations. They were detained during operations in and around Mirpur-10, he said.

He said the detainees were grassroots-level leaders from Barishal, Patuakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Gaibandha and other districts.

Rakib Khan also alleged that Alif Mollah, nephew of former Dhaka-16 MP Ilias Uddin Mollah, had brought 100-150 people to the area to carry out sabotage under the cover of the labour movement.

DMP Joint Commissioner Mohidul Islam said a wage board had been formed to determine garment workers’ wages and that police had tried to explain the process to the protesters.

He said police suspected that a group opposed to the government or the state had joined the movement to worsen the law and order situation.

The clashes and road blockade caused severe disruption across Mirpur throughout the day. With traffic between Mirpur-10 and Pallabi largely halted, office-goers and students struggled to reach their destinations. Many people ran for safety during the clashes.

Garment workers had also blocked roads in Mirpur on Thursday and Saturday over their demand for a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. After Saturday’s blockade, protesters vandalised two garment factories and two shopping malls in Mirpur-1 and Pallabi.