50 injured in trader-hawker clash in Gulistan

A Dhaka Court sent 190 people arrested following a clash between traders of Dhaka Trade Centre and hawkers Friday noon at Gulistan area to jail after they were produced before the court in the evening.
At least 50 people, including a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, were injured during the clash between traders of Dhaka Trade Centre and hawkers over the latter setting up makeshift shops at footpaths and verandas of the centre.
The clash was a sequel to Thursday afternoon’s clash between the two sides over the same issue.
The clash continued for about two hours starting at 12pm when traffic movement remained suspended around the area, police and eyewitnesses said.
Following the clash, police raided the area and arrested 190 people, including traders, workers and hawkers, DMP’s Motijheel zone additional deputy commissioner Md Tarek Bin Rashid told New Age.
Five of the injured people – DMP’s Motijheel zone DC Anwar Hossain, trader Rashed Ahmed, shop worker Nur Islam and hawkers Billal Hossain and Babul Akhter – took treatment at the emergency unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, sources at the hospital said.
The other injured ones took primary treatment at different private clinics, confirmed sources among traders and hawkers.
Police and eyewitnesses said shop owners of Dhaka Trade Centre and hawkers sat at a meeting to discuss Thursday’s clash and the hawkers’ makeshift shops when, at one stage, the hawkers locked into an altercation with a trader.
When the traders asked the hawkers to leave the area with their makeshift shops, the hawkers refused, and tension grew among the two sides.
At one stage, at around 12pm, the shop owners and their workers entered the centre, locked its main gate and began hurling brickbats targeting the hawkers.
The hawkers immediately retaliated throwing brickbats in the opposite direction, spreading panic among ordinary people who ran to safety.
Traffic movement immediately stopped in and around the Gulistan area and the hawkers also set a fire by gathering wood and paper from nearby areas.
The Paltan thana police said they immediately rushed to the spot, lobbed tear gas shells and used water cannons to stop both the clashing groups.
DMP Motijheel zone DC Anwar Hossain was hit on his left forehead as a brickbat hit him there, police said, adding that he was immediately rushed to DMCH.
At around 2pm, the police brought the situation under control.
The Motijheel zone ADC said traffic movement became normal after the clash ended and the market was kept closed following the clash.
He said extra police forces were deployed in the area to avoid any further untoward incident.
Paltan police said the 190 arrested people were sent to court in the evening in the case relating to Thursday’s clash between traders and hawkers.
The Dhaka Court’s Paltan zone general recording officer Jalal Ahmed said the metropolitan magistrate Khorshed Alam ordered all the detained people sent to jail.
A leader of hawkers, preferring anonymity, said all their leaders had gone into hiding to avoid police harassment and at least 50 hawkers were injured and took treatment at private clinics to avoid arrest.
He said that they expected a good sale ahead of upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr and if they were not allowed to set up their shops, they would not be able to celebrate eid.
A shop owner at the trade centre said he could not contact the association leaders as their mobile phones were switched off and almost all the arrested people were either traders of the centre or their workers.
DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, who visited the spot, told reporters that police would take action against the hawkers who clashed on Friday.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net