Staff Reporter :
About 26 leaders and activists including Zonayed Saki, the Chief Coordinator of Ganosanghati Andolon, and Saiful Haq, General Secretary of Biplobi Workers’ Party were injured as police charged batons on them on their ‘Black-Day in Democracy’ protest in the capital.
Three journalists were also injured while they were covering the incident on the spot.
The injured people were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Police claimed that eight of their personnel were also injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, Monirul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Ramna Police Station, said they requested the left-leaning political parties not to break the barricade when they reached the Matsya Bhaban area but they ignored.
He said that, the protesters also attacked the police with their sticks which they carried with their placards.
Sources said, that eight political parties mostly of them were from left-leaning party’s, arranged the protest programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club to observe the ‘Black Day in Democracy’ marking last year’s parliamentary polls in which Awami League secured a landslide victory but was marked by reports of irregularities.
Witnesses said that, the protest rally started at 12:00pm and was heading towards Prime Minister’s Office around 1:00pm. They cross a police barricade near Kodom Fountain near the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the police started baton charge on them when they were trying to cross the barricade near Matsya Bhaban where the incident occurred.
