4 female RMG workers injured ‘by splinters’ as police fire teargas, lob sound grenades at Ashulia protesters
Workers claim police fired on them, law enforcers deny the accusation
A clash broke out this morning (23 October) between workers of some factories in Ashulia and the police which left four people injured.
The incident took place at around 11am in the Narsinghpur area of Ashulia, where workers of some factories, including Generation Next Fashions, staged a demonstration demanding pending arrears and allowances.
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According to the police, the workers gathered in Narsinghpur and started pelting bricks at various factories located there. At one point, they clashed with the police.
Later, the police dispersed the crowd by hurling sound grenades and tear shells, leaving four injured.
Ashulia Women and Children Hospital's Assistant Manager Asaf-ud-Daula Rizvi said four injured workers were admitted to the hospital and claimed three of them sported "bullet" wounds, although those hadn't been fully examined yet.
They are Halima Khatun, Babita Akhtar, Morsheda Khatun and Champa Khatun.
Among them, Halima reportedly works at Susuka Garments, and the rest at Generation Next Fashion.
Superintendent of Industrial Police-1 Md Sarwar Alam, however, denied the incident of firing on workers.
"When the workers started pelting bricks at the police, they were dispersed by hurling sound grenades and shooting teargas shells," he told The Business Standard.
"What could have happened is a sound grenade landed on a piece of brick somewhere and the splinters struck the protesters. Certainly the police did not fire any shots," added the police official.
Md Shamim, a worker of Generation Next Fashion Limited, claimed at least 40 to 50 workers have been injured.
"The workers first took a position in front of the factory this morning. From there, we peacefully marched towards Narsinghpur. Other workers from nearby factories also joined us. When we reached Banglabazar, the police fired rubber bullets at us, hurled tear shells and sound grenades, dispersing the crowd. Some of our workers were even shot," he claimed.
