Staff Reporter :
At least 35 people were injured as the activists of Progressive Students Alliance clashed with cops during a protest at Dhaka University (DU) area on Friday evening over the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed at the Kashimpur Central Jail.
Twenty of the injured people were the protesters and 15 were policemen. Later, police reportedly arrested seven protesters from the spot.
The protesters brought out a torchlight procession in the area around 7pm. Police obstructed them and detained some of the protesters from the spot, leading to a clash.
At one stage, police baton charged the protesters and fired tear gas shells there, forcing the protesters to take shelter in front of the central mosque of Dhaka University.
At least 20 activists of Progressive Students Alliance were injured when the police charged baton on the agitators. The injured were taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said Rupok Ray, general secretary of Dhaka city unit of Bangladesh Student Federation.
Najifa Jannat, a spokesperson of the protesters, alleged that they brought out the torchlight procession from the Central Shaheed Minar and were marching towards Shahbagh via TSC.
When they reached TSC area, police suddenly obstructed them and baton
charged to disperse them, leading to a scuffle there. Meanwhile, Sajjadur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Zone), told the reporters that police showed utmost patience in tackling the situation.
“The protesters were marching towards Shahbagh and we tried to disperse them. But they carried out attack and threw brickbats at us. Around 14 policemen, including me, sustained injuries in the incident,” he said.
According to Shahbagh Police Station sources, some four protesters were arrested from the spot, though the protesters claimed the number of arrestees to be seven.
Samajtantrik Chhatra Front President Salman Siddiqui said some 20 protesters were injured in the clash.
He also disclosed that the protesting organisations will bring out a rally from the Raju Memorial Sculpture tomorrow noon, protesting against the police attack on them.
