<i>Mirpur erupts in protests </i>
Several thousand garment workers in the capital's Mirpur clashed with police and demonstrated following the alleged murder of a female worker by some fellow staff yesterday.
During the hour-long clashes from around 2:00pm at Mirpur Section-1, police lobbed at least 30 rounds of teargas shells and charged batons on the agitating workers.
The demonstrators fought back with brickbats and bamboo sticks. They blocked the road and ransacked several vehicles.
In the face of the unrest, at least 15 factories in the area shut their production after lunchtime.
Officer-in-Charge Kazi Wazed Ali of Mirpur Police Station said the clash left five policemen, including him, injured. They picked up 11 persons from the scene.
Police and demonstrators said sewing operator Beauty Akhter, 19, of Vertex Garments Ltd was found dead around 10:00am on the road in front of the eight-story factory building at Kalwala Para.
A rickshaw-van puller, Abdul Jalil, said he saw the girl falling down from the building-top. He, along with other passers by and shopkeepers, found her lying dead on the road.
"As we informed the security guards and other workers of the factory, they came forward," Jalil said.
A number of protesting workers alleged Jharna Begum, 32, a line in-charge of the factory, was one of the five employees who killed Beauty following a quarrel between Jharna and the girl.
Fatema Begum and Mamtaj Begum -- two of the victim's colleagues -- told The Daily Star that after an altercation around 9:30am, Jharna took Beauty to the production manager. Since then, the girl remained missing.
According to witnesses, after the death news spread the factory workers took to the street leaving work.
After the lunch break, workers of at least 10 nearby factories joined the protest.
Police arrested Jharna around 2:00pm. Workers swooped on the woman while she was being taken to police van.
As police tried to protect Jharna, the workers also attacked the law enforcers triggering a battle.
Mirpur police said Jharna denied the allegation. She had refused to allow Beauty to work anymore, as the girl used to make mistakes, said police quoting the detainee.
Jharna claimed she took Beauty to the production manager's office and came back to work leaving Beauty in the room. Later she (Jharna) came to know about the death.
Jasim Uddin Mollah, Mirpur zone senior assistant commissioner of police, said, according to the factory authorities the girl committed suicide by jumping from the building top.
He said police were looking into the matter and Beauty's father filed a murder case accusing Jharna and four other staff.
Talking to The Daily Star, victim's uncle Golam Mostofa ruled out suicide. She was killed and her body was dropped, Mostofa said.
Police also said after the unrest among the workers, authorities of at least 15 factories closed their operation since the lunch break.
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