Police and garment workers protesting for a raise became embroiled in a clash in Mirpur around noon on Thursday, as they entered the third day of their demonstrations.
The clash took place before Purabi Cinema Hall, and police had to use sound grenades and teargas to disperse the protesters.
Workers blocked roads and vandalized shops in Mirpur in the morning demanding an increase in their pay. Later they staged a demonstration by blocking the main road in Mirpur 12, disrupting traffic movement.
According to the police, garment workers entered the BRTC bus depot in Mirpur and vandalized some buses.
Police detained three suspects from the spot, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Pallabi Zone) Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Nazmul Hasan Feroze confirmed the information to Dhaka Tribune.
Initially, law enforcement requested the protesting workers to leave the road but later fired teargas shells and sound grenades to maintain order and ensure traffic flow. At the time, the garment workers vandalized several establishments in the area.
The police said they had tried to talk with the workers and make them understand that garment authorities were working on meeting their demands, urging them to clear out the road.
But they had declined to do so, resulting in traffic disruption in Mirpur, the law enforcement agency added.
Mirpur model police station OC Md Mohsin told reporters that they were working to bring the situation under control.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, garment workers protesting for the same demand vandalized the entrances to some garment factories, and traffic came to a halt from Mirpur 10 to Mirpur 14 during this time.
Their protests started a day earlier on Tuesday, when they took to the streets demanding a raise.
Meanwhile, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in Dhaka and surrounding areas in the morning on Thursday.
Shariful Islam, public relations officer at the BGB, said a sufficient number of BGB members had been deployed to strengthen the security of garment factories in Ashulia, Savar, Mirpur, Rampura, Abdullahpur, Tongi and Gazipur areas.