At least 15 persons including a solider of Bangladesh Army were injured as BNP and Jamaat-Shibir activists locked in clashes with law enforcing agencies at 15 to 20 points of Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Sitakunda upazila in the port city Saturday afternoon.
The protesters blasted about a hundred crude bombs, torched eight vehicles and vandalised 20 others in different areas on the highway, police and local sources said.
About 30-kilometres long tailback was seen on the both sides of the highway because of the clashes, said Syed Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Baro Awalia highway police outpost.
As part of countrywide programme, several hundred BNP and Jamaat-Shibir men brought out protest processions from sadar upazila area around 4pm and attempted to block the highway, said OC SM Badiujjaman of Sitakunda police station.
The BNP and Jamaat-Shibir men swooped on police when the law enforcers tried to disperse them, he added.
Police lobbed tear shells, fired rubber bullets and gas gun shells in retaliation, said the OC.
Rapid Action Battlion (Rab-7) and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel also rushed to spot but the agitated opposition men also locked clashes with them in several phases, said Major Rahman, deputy director of Rab-7.
He said when he was on duty in the violence he found an army man, Soilder Rafiq, got severe injury in his head.
“Rafiq was taken to the upazila health complex by Rab men,” he said while the emergency department of the health complex told Dhaka Tribune that he was shifted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for better treatment.
However, the local opposition sources claimed at least 14 people injured due to police action.
Vehicular movement on the highway was halted from 4:30pm till 9pm, causing immense sufferings for commuters.