22 arrested; 11 allegedly linked to banned AL and its associate organisations, says DB
Four cases have been filed over two consecutive days of labour unrest in the capital's Mirpur, involving clashes, arson and attacks on police during protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000.
Up to 10,500 unidentified people have been named as accused in the cases, while 22 people have so far been arrested. Of them, 11 are allegedly activists of the banned Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League, according to the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
The officers-in-charge (OCs) of Mirpur Model and Pallabi police stations disclosed the information on Monday afternoon, saying law enforcement operations were continuing over the violence surrounding the workers' protests.
Mirpur Model Police Station OC Md Hafizur Rahman said a case had been filed over the vandalism of a traffic police box and attacks on police in the area. Around 3,000 unidentified people were named as accused in the case, and six people had so far been arrested.
He said several more people were arrested on Monday, but their identities and involvement were still being verified. Police were continuing the arrest drive after reviewing CCTV footage.
Meanwhile, Pallabi Police Station OC Jalal Uddin said three cases had been filed over the torching of a police vehicle, attacks on police, obstruction of government duties and vandalism of a traffic police box.
Police filed all three cases, with between 2,000 and 2,500 unidentified people named as accused in each. A total of 16 people have so far been arrested in connection with the cases, he said.
Based on the figures provided by the two police stations, the total number of accused ranges from 9,000 to a maximum of 10,500.
The DB has claimed that local activists of the banned Awami League exploited the workers' wage movement to instigate violence in Mirpur. According to the agency, a section of the activists had organised themselves through online groups and allegedly planned major acts of sabotage under the cover of the labour protests.
The DB further claimed that 11 of those arrested were activists of the banned Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League and were not regular workers at local garment factories. They had allegedly travelled to Mirpur from different districts to carry out subversive activities by taking advantage of the workers' movement.
The agency also alleged that attempts were being made to divert the workers' legitimate movement, create public panic and destabilise the country.
Police disperse workers attempting to take to streets again
Meanwhile, police dispersed groups of workers who attempted to take to the streets in Mirpur on Monday morning.
At around 10:45am, workers tried to come onto the road through a lane in the Senpara Parbata area near Mirpur-10. Police chased them away and fired several rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Later, workers also attempted to take to the streets near Proshika intersection, adjacent to the Mirpur-2 stadium. Police removed them from the area as well.
Witnesses said groups of workers arrived separately from the Rupnagar area, moving towards Proshika intersection alongside the Mirpur-2 stadium. When they attempted to take to the road, police stopped them at around 11am, triggering tension between the two sides.
The garment workers' protests began on October 31 in Dhaka and surrounding industrial areas, with workers demanding that the minimum monthly wage be raised to Tk 30,000.
The demonstrations spread across Mirpur in the capital, Savar-Ashulia and Kaliakair in Gazipur. Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed to bring the situation under control.