Seven transport workers arrested during clashes at Dhaka’s Gabtoli during the nationwide strike have been remanded in police custody for one day.
Police have started a case against them for alleged obstruction to the law enforcement, vandalising and torching vehicles and blocking traffic.
The seven accused are Rafiqul Islam, ‘Hasanur’, ‘Robin’, ‘Sohel’, Fazle Rabbi, Al Amin and Enamul Hoque. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Alamgir Kabir Raj passed the order on Thursday after police produced them with a plea for a five-day remand.
The court turned down bail appeals of the defendants.
An unannounced nationwide strike in protest against the conviction of two drivers over fatal road accidents kicked off early on Tuesday.
The same night, transport workers at Dhaka’s Gabtali bus terminal clashed with police, leaving four including three law enforcers injured.
Fresh violence erupted the next morning when transport workers blocked the road near the Gabtoli underpass.
The agitating transport workers fought pitched battles with police on the road from the southern end of Aminbazar Bridge to the entrance of the Mazar Road near the Gabtoli inter-district bus terminal.
Traffic remained suspended at one of the main accesses to Dhaka during the clash.
Transport workers damaged several vehicles, including of police and media during the clash. One of the workers injured in the clash later died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The seven workers were detained during the clash. The case against them was initiated at Darus Salam Police Station on Wednesday night.
Two other cases were lodged by police and a female victim following the clashes.
The cases accuse 48 persons and another 1,200 unidentified people, said Darus Salam Police Station’s OC Selimuzzaman.
“Some transport workers’ leaders are also among the accused.”
Police have shown the seven arrested in another case and asked for five days to question them in remand.
The court will hear the appeal on Sunday, said court police’s Senior Assistant Commissioner Mirash Uddin.
