The entire Sadarghat area in the south of Dhaka turned into a battlefield yesterday as a tripartite clash erupted following a dispute over credit settlement between two fabric businessmen.
The clash, starting inside the local police station, continued for about an hour before police finally managed to quell it. At least 30 individuals, five of them officials of the station, were injured.
Witnesses said the incident occurred around 1pm after a failed attempt by the officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station to resolve a dispute concerning the recovery of an unpaid credit.
Soon it spilled over the adjoining areas as hundreds of supporters of the feuding businessmen, Mohammad Nobiullah and Matiur Rahman, arrived and joined the fight with sticks, iron rods and bamboos.
Merchants and businessmen in the area were forced to put up their shutters during the clash while communication in the launch terminal area was suspended for hours even after the clash was over, causing sufferings to waiting commuters.
According to sources, the dispute ensued after Mohammad Nobiullah of Ladies Market purchased fabrics worth Tk300,000 from Matiur Rahman of South Plaza Market but failed to pay for that even after several months.
Then OC Salauddin Ahmed of Kotwali police station proposed to settle the dispute through negotiation and invited the two parties in the station earlier yesterday. But instead of reaching a settlement the two engaged into a clash.
“They injured five policemen while inside the station and soon the clash spilled over adjoining areas with hundreds joining them. Police charged batons and fired rounds to bring the situation under control,” said SI Golam Rasul of the station.
Police fired nearly a hundred rounds of ammunition and detained four individuals in this connection.
Four of the injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), 16 to Mitford Hospital while the rest to different clinics in the area. At least 15 of them sustained bullet wounds and the condition of some were said to be critical.
In another clash between students and transport workers over bus fares at Farmgate around 12:30pm, at least three individuals were injured. The injured – identified as Rabil Islam, Sazzad Hossain and Pinaki – were admitted to DMCH.
