Police used force to disperse agitated former workers of Tazreen Fashions Limited and teachers of Ebtedayee madrasa in the early hours of Monday to free the pavement in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
The demonstrators alleged that police charged batons, fired tear gas shells and used water cannons on them during the drive when they were asleep around 4:30am.
Bangladesh Swatantra Ebtedayee Madrasa Shikkhok Samiti was staging their sit-in program for the last 22 days demanding nationalization of the madrasas, the primary level educational institutions under Madrasa Education Board.
Moreover, the former workers of Tazreen Fashions were continuing their demonstrations for nearly three months to realize their demands including compensation, rehabilitation and treatment for the workers who sustained injuries in the deadly Tazreen fire.
On November 24, 2012, a massive fire raged through the apparel factory in Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital, killing at least 112 workers and injuring more than 200 others.
However, police denied the allegation of using force.
Also Read- Justice a far cry in the Tazreen Fashions fire case
Sazzadur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Ramna Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told Dhaka Tribune that the DMP commissioner recently published a circular citing that no meeting and gathering will be allowed without police permission.
"They were staging demonstrations for many days. We asked them to vacate the place three days back. The same request was made yesterday [Sunday] evening. At night our teams went there to monitor whether they left the place or not," he said.
Following the incident, the workers held a press conference in the capital's Hatirpool area.
Reading out a written statement, Tazreen fire victim Jorina Begum said police foiled their peaceful program in the name of maintaining law and order.
"They said they dispersed us to tackle an anarchic situation. But we want to raise the question that what can be more anarchic than not paying compensation to the wounded workers even after eight years of the fire incident?"
She said the workers started the sit-in program from September 18 as there was no other way left.
"We tried our best to draw the government's attention…submitted our memorandum thrice to the Prime Minister's Office, Labour Ministry, and BGMEA [Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association], but it yielded no result."