Police charge baton to disperse Eorange customers in city
Police charged baton on protesting Eorange customers to disperse them as they tried to block the Motsho Bhaban intersection in the city on Thursday.
Prior to this, several hundred agitated customers staged a demonstration in front of the National Press Club protesting the uncertainty over the delivery of pending orders by the e-commerce platform Eorange.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ramna Petrol) Rajan Kumar Shaha, around 300 to 400 Eorange customers held a peaceful human chain protest today at 11am, after which a 3 or 4 member delegation team of the protesting customers were going to the commerce ministry to present their demand formally.
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He said, "Police had to charge baton the unruly protesters to disperse them from the area who tried to block the busy intersection instead of going to the commerce ministry as decided."
Md Taherul Islam, one of the protesters, however denied the police claim saying police attacked them while they were holding a peaceful demo.
Earlier, a Dhaka court sent e-commerce platform Eorange's owner Sonia Mehjabin and her husband Masukur Rahman to jail on 17 August after the couple surrendered to the court following a case filed against them by Eorange customers.
The online platform failed to deliver products on time even after receiving payment from its customers, which was a violation of Customer Rights Protection Act 2009 and Penal Code 1860.
On behalf of the aggrieved customers, Md Taherul Islam filed the case against five people, including the owners, with Gulshan Police Station accusing them of embezzling around Tk1,100 crore.
The case was filed on the night of 16 August following a protest of hundreds of Eorange customers in front of Gulshan Police Station.
The complainant said he had paid in advance to Eorange on 21 April but was yet to get the product. He did not get any refund either.
The Eorange authorities were supposed to publish a product list outlining the pending orders and the stipulated delivery time. But instead of publishing the list, it sought up to 45 to 60 days, which infuriated customers.
On 12 August, Eorange posted on their Facebook page that though their office was reportedly vandalised, they promised to deliver products on 16 August.
