A planned “gayebana janaza” (absentee funeral prayer) for garment worker Toufiq Sheikh, who died after being injured during a workers’ protest in Gazipur, was disrupted after law enforcement members fired sound grenades to disperse the gathering at Chandana Chowrasta on Wednesday.
The incident took place around 12:45pm, when members of the NCP were preparing to hold the prayer. More than 20 leaders and activists from various units were injured in the incident.
Toufiq, 22, was the son of Tabibor Rahman Tabi of Chhaygharia village in Kochasahar Union under Gobindaganj Upazila of Gaibandha. He lived in a rented house in the Banglabazar area of Gazipur and worked as a junior layman in the cutting section of Laila Styles Ltd.
He died while undergoing treatment at Shin-Shin Japan Hospital in Uttara, Dhaka, after being injured in an attack during the ongoing garment workers’ movement demanding higher wages in Gazipur.
The NCP had earlier announced the absentee funeral prayer in memory of Toufiq. Several leaders of the party and its affiliated organisation Sramik Shakti addressed the gathering before central leader Ali Naser Khan delivered his speech.
After the speeches, the organisers attempted to hold the prayer, but police intervened. When NCP leaders and activists tried to proceed despite the objection, police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members fired sound grenades, dispersing the crowd.
NCP central leader Ali Naser Khan said police had obstructed their peaceful programme.
“We demand justice for the killing of garment worker Toufiq Sheikh. We also call on the government to accept the workers’ legitimate demands. We were attacked and prevented from holding the absentee funeral prayer,” he said.