Workers of Jinnat Knitwear Ltd staged a protest in Gazipur’s Sreepur on Tuesday, demanding justice over the death of Zakir Hossain, 24, a garment worker who died after falling from the rooftop of the factory’s eight-storey building.
The workers besieged the factory from around 8:30am in the Nayonpur (Notun Bazar) area under Gazipur Union.
At one stage, clashes erupted when police tried to stop them from vandalising the factory and an armoured vehicle.
At least 20–25 people, including workers and policemen, were injured in the confrontation.
Zakir Hossain, 25, son of Moktar Uddin of Badechirampur village in Barhatta upazila of Netrokona, was employed at Jinnat Knitwear Ltd in Sreepur.
He was reportedly injured after falling from the rooftop of the factory on the evening of Monday and died around 9pm while undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
Protesting workers claimed that Zakir had sought leave from the factory, but a senior official misbehaved with him, saying leave could not be granted.
Although they could not identify the official, they alleged that Zakir later jumped from the rooftop and took his own life.
Police had been deployed at the factory since the Monday night.
On Tuesday morning, workers gathered in front of the factory and attempted to break in.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse them.
In retaliation, agitated workers vandalised a police armoured personnel carrier (APC).
The workers further alleged that police launched tear gas shells without provocation, injuring 15–20 of them.
Zubair M Bashar, assistant general manager of Jinnat Knitwear Ltd, denied the allegations, saying that Zakir had been suffering from personal and family-related stress over the past few days.
He said there was no incident regarding a leave request.
Inspector Abdul Latif of Gazipur Industrial Police (Sreepur Zone) said workers attacked police personnel, injuring nine officers with brickbats.
They also vandalised an APC. Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.
Army personnel, industrial police and local police were deployed and the situation is currently under control.
