Mayhem on Mirpur Road as students, traders clash

Students of Dhaka College yesterday clashed with traders on the stretch of Mirpur Road between New Market and Science Laboratory intersections, paralysing the city's busiest shopping hub for hours.

Traffic on the busy road came to an abrupt halt as the students and shopkeepers of Dhanmondi Hawkers' Market fought pitched battles for about two hours from 3:30pm.

At least 30 people, including pedestrians and shoppers, were injured, over two dozen shops vandalised and "looted", four motorbikes set on fire and a number of vehicles damaged before police managed to bring the situation under control around 5:30pm.

"You cannot even imagine the situation we had to deal with. Brickbats were raining onto the streets," said Jasim Uddin, additional deputy commissioner (Ramna Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

"We fired rubber bullets, sound grenades and 50 tear gas shells to contain the situation."

Even when this correspondent visited the area at 6:00pm, about 70 yards of both lanes of the road was covered with brick chunks and sticks used during the violence.

All these stemmed from an altercation over the pricing of clothes at a store in the market.

An argument broke out between two students at a sari store -- Sari Mela, said Habibur Rahman, owner of the shop.

"They chose three saris worth about Tk 60,000. But they wanted them for free.

"When we refused to comply, the [students] said, 'We control the Dhaka Metropolitan Area'," he said, adding that the students had a woman and a child with them.

Motorcycles were burnt and vehicles vandalised during the violence. Photo: Banglar Chokh

At one stage of the brawl, the students left the market but returned around 20 minutes later with a group of around 20 people, armed with machetes, sticks and firearms and attacked the shop, Habibur went on.

They attacked Sari Mela and beat Habibur Rahman and 14 others.

"They also looted and vandalised some 25-30 adjacent shops," claimed Mohammad Khorshed Alam, joint secretary of the traders' association in the market.

The panicked shopkeepers sought shelter from a group of 7-8 policemen posted outside the market. The cops called for reinforcement that came reportedly almost an hour later.

The traders alleged that police were hesitating in taking actions, prompting them to get organised to resist the "attackers".

As the traders started pelting brick chunks at the students, they retreated and took shelter inside the college campus on the other side of the road. They too began throwing brickbats at the traders.

Police officer Jashim said about 700 students and over 1,000 shop owners and hawkers were engaged in the violence.

Eight of the injured, including three students, took treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The Daily Star contacted the general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League's Dhaka College chapter to know if his men were involved in the incident.

"The BCL had no part in it," claimed Sakib Hasan Swim before coming up with another version of how it all started.

"I have heard that the traders had confined a student of the college to the market following an altercation over the pricing of clothes."

A lensman rescuing an injured student. Photo: Banglar Chokh

They even assaulted a team of Dhaka College teachers who had gone there to free the student, he alleged.

However, Principal Prof Tuhin Afroza Alam of the college denied sending any teacher to the market.

"We are not yet sure what triggered the clash ... But our students were obedient. They returned to the campus when we asked them," she told this paper.

The market's business leader Khorshed said their shops are monitored by CCTV cameras and they would give the footage to the police for identifying the attackers.

As of 12:45am today, police did not get the footage, said Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Mahbubur Rahman of New Market Police Station.

No case was filed and no one was arrested, he added.