Police, city officials under attack during Mirpur eviction drive; Salahuddin cites coordination gap

Police and city corporation officials came under attack during a Mirpur eviction drive yesterday (30 September) after a fire broke out, with hawkers allegedly vandalising vehicles and setting three DNCC garbage trucks ablaze. The home minister attributed the clashes partly to a coordination gap among authorities involved in the operation.

Police said eight to nine personnel were injured and around 30 people were detained in connection with the clashes. One passer-by was also injured after hawkers allegedly attacked him with bricks and helmets. 

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) drive began around 9:30am to clear illegal occupants from footpaths and roads from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-14. 

Tensions escalated after a fire reportedly broke out while a city corporation roller was demolishing shops. People involved in the operation said an electrical short circuit triggered the blaze, which gutted five to six shops beneath Baitul Quddus Jame Mosque in the Hope Market area.

A section of hawkers then attacked DNCC workers and police with bricks and stones. Three DNCC garbage trucks were set ablaze, while an excavator and a police vehicle were vandalised. Police fired tear-gas shells as hawkers responded with brickbats, injuring passer-by Nasir Uddin in the head.

“I was returning after completing some work at BRTA. When I reached the roundabout, the hawkers hit me on the head with bricks and helmets. My head was split open,” Nasir said, adding that people later took him to a pharmacy.

Several journalists covering the incident were also allegedly harassed, while a private television channel’s vehicle was vandalised. Fire Service duty officer Rakib Hossain said three units responded to the fire.

By around 11:45am, hawkers had gathered near Mirpur Ideal College while police took positions around the Mirpur-10 roundabout. Police later estimated that around 30 people had been detained and said eight to nine police personnel were injured. The operation resumed around 3:57pm with additional police, SRF and Ansar members deployed.

Mirpur Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police Md Abul Basar Molla said the drive would continue and legal action would be taken over the attacks.

“We want to make the footpaths completely free of hawkers. The entire road and illegal structures will be cleared and the area will be kept free of encroachment,” he said.

Planned attack, says DNCC administrator

Visiting the site around 1pm, DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan Milton alleged that the attack was planned and that those involved had prepared beforehand. He also questioned police preparedness, saying officers arrived at the site but initially found no police personnel there.

Milton alleged that “accomplices to fascism” chanted anti-government slogans, created disorder, targeted DNCC workers, police and journalists. He said police and DNCC would file cases and claimed several people involved had already been identified.

DMP Joint Commissioner (Crime) Md Faruk Hossain said police act within the law but face attacks from “opportunistic groups”. Police sources said officers have been cautious about using force since 5 August because of possible legal complications.

Crime analyst Touhidul Haque said repeated attacks raise questions about police capacity and decision-making autonomy and called for restoring officers’ morale.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said poor coordination may have contributed to the clashes, as the responsible magistrate and city corporation or Rajuk officials had not properly communicated with police. He ordered an investigation.

Salahuddin said drives against terrorists, armed criminals, drug dealers and extortionists would be intensified, adding that offenders would face action regardless of political identity.

Shafiqur seeks MPs’ involvement

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman said the two Jamaat MPs should have been involved in the operation to help reach a peaceful solution, as the area falls under Dhaka-15 and Dhaka-16 constituencies.

He said authorities needed to clear roads while ensuring livelihoods for small traders, many of whom come to Dhaka from rural areas and face daily, weekly, monthly and yearly extortion.

Shafiqur condemned the burning of government vehicles, saying their destruction ultimately harms taxpayers, and urged the government to investigate the damage to the mosque’s property.

Fifth such incident since March

The Mirpur clash is the fifth reported confrontation involving attacks on police during eviction or recovery drives in Dhaka since March.

On 7 March, hawkers in Jatrabari reportedly threatened police and made offensive remarks during an eviction drive, leading to five-day imprisonment without labour for those involved. On 20 May, at least seven police personnel were injured during a government land recovery operation in Baunia Badh, Pallabi, where protesters threw bricks and chased police before four buses were vandalised.

On 8 June, police faced resistance during a Rajuk operation at DIT Pond in Gandaria after an allegedly illegal office linked to a local councillor was not removed. Shyampur OC Nazrul Islam and a bodyguard constable were injured, with the constable suffering a head injury.

On 26 July, police were attacked during an eviction drive in Jurain, Kadamtali, with an officer targeted with a shoe and two people arrested.