Station Road area of Chittagong city yesterday turned into battleground when some 300 workers of a Readymade Garment (RMG) factory clashed with police leaving at least 30 people, including 10 policemen, injured.
Police detained around 110 RMG workers, most of them female, in this connection, said Abdur Rahim, assistant commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).
He added that the detainees were sent to Kotwali police station for taking the next course of action after verifying the identities of the workers
The clash ensued when police tried to drive out the workers from the Station Road near New Market area at around 11am on Wednesday after the agitated workers of one Asian Apparels Limited took to the street demanding shifting their factory from city’s Uttar Kattali area to Station Road.
The demonstrating workers hurled brick chips targeting police when the law enforcers attempted to take the RMG workers out triggering the clash, said witnesses.
At least 10 policemen including CMP’s Kotwali Zone’s AC Abdur Rahim, Kotwali police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Jasim Uddin, Inspector (Investigation) Nur Ahmed were wounded in the clash.
Two constables, an Ansar member and six garment workers were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pankaj Barua of the hospital’s police outpost.
Police and demonstrating workers said the authorities shifted the factory from the five-storied main office building at Station Road to Uttar Kattali area under Akbar Shah police station few months ago prompting workers’ dissatisfaction.
The workers alleged that after shifting the factory at Uttar Kattali area some female workers were allegedly harassed by the some outsiders.
The matter was informed to the factory authority but they did not care about it.
And for this, the workers were demanding to shift the factory to the earlier place, added the workers.
To press home the demands, the factory workers on Tuesday evening put a barricade in front of their main office for one hour and staged demonstration.
OC Jasim Uddin said the workers had lifted their barricade on Tuesday following the assurance of the factory administration that they will sit with the workers to come to a solution on Wednesday.
However, the workers blocked the important New Market road again in the morning and staged demonstrating creating long tailback and public sufferings, said the OC.
“The agitated workers started to hurl stones on police personnel while they were asked to remove the barricade from the road, hurting ten policemen including the OC and Inspector,” AC Kazi Abdur Rahim told the Dhaka Tribune.
AC Rahim said: “Police later fired tear shells and rubber bullets and charged baton on them to disperse the clashing workers.”
Following the half an hour clash, traffic movement were halted for two hours creating huge gridlocks amid the sweltering weather. The situation is now under control, said the police official.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
