Garment workers, police clash in Tongi, 3 factories closed

Authorities of three garment factories have suspended operations of the factories following a clash between workers and police in BSCIC industrial area of Tongi in Gazipur.

The incident took place on Tuesday (February 1) between 8:30 am to 10:00 am.

Some 10 to 15 people including police sustained injuries during the conflict.

The injured workers were identified as Shahinur Akter, 18, Safina Akter, 18, Kamal, 23, Monirul, 24, Nur Mohammad, 25, Zia, 25, Taslima, 26 and Mukti Akter, 32. Of them, Mukti and Kamal were discharged after providing initial treatment and the rest were admitted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital.

Tivoli Apparels Limited workers Sarwar Uddin and Khairul Haque said, Lutfar Rahman, production manager of the factory, humiliated Ripa Akter, who was a worker at the finishing section and threatened to get her out of the factory on Saturday (January 29). Following the incident, the workers went on strike on the same day demanding justice for Ripa. The workers also placed 12 demands to the authority.

Later, the authority announced closure of the factory for an indefinite time and hung a notice in front of the factory on Tuesday morning. Following the notice, the workers grew agitated and started throwing brickbats at the police who were trying to stop them. Later, police fired 30 rounds of shotgun bullets, 10 rounds of sound grenades and tear gas to disperse the agitated workers.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police’s Deputy Commissioner (crime) Mohammad Iltutmish said, the agitated workers of Tivoli Apparels Limited vandalized other factories. They also threw brickbats at the police while the team was trying to stop them. The industrial police and metropolitan police threw tear gas and fired sound grenades to bring the situation under control. The incident left five policemen injured.