Hall-Mark workers clash with cops

Around 200 people sustained injuries, mostly from rubber bullets, as several thousand garment workers of Hall-Mark Group clashed with law enforcers during their demonstrations for arrears and Eid bonus in Savar in Dhaka yesterday.
The sporadic demonstrations left around 30 vehicles ransacked and a three-hour-long tailback on Dhaka-Aricha Highway causing immense sufferings to the people bound for home to celebrate Eid.
Police and witnesses said a large number of Hall-Mark Group's different garment units' workers gathered in front of their office at Hemayetpur for arrears and bonus to see a notice that the factories were closed sine die.
The demonstrators started vandalising glasses of their factories, but police dispersed them after half an hour's effort.
The witnesses said the authorities were scheduled to pay the workers in the morning. Seeing the notice at around 8:00am, the agitating workers marched the highway, but industrial police stopped them on Singair-Hemayetpur road, they added.
A series of chase and counter chase along with rowdy clashes ensued after the workers broke police barricade and marched forward. The police charge baton, hurled teargas canisters and fired stray bullets to bring the situation under control.
A group of the workers later gathered on Dhaka-Aricha Highway at Jorpool in Hemayetpur, around one and a half kilometres away from their factory, and blocked the road at around 9:15am.
Additional police force from the capital rushed there and tried to convince them to go off the road in vain.
The police went on action at around 11:00am. Traffic movement resumed after the police drove away the demonstrators from the highway at around 11:30am.
The witnesses said long queues of vehicles were stuck from Gabtoli to Hemayetpur and from Hemayetpur to Savar bus stand on both sides of the spot.
A number of workers told reporters they were paid September's salary a few days ago and Eid bonus and overtime payments were supposed to be paid yesterday. Without prior notice the authorities shut down the factories all of a sudden.
Operation officer of Savar police Sazzad Rumon told this correspondent they were compelled to go for action as the agitators barricaded the highway and damaged vehicles. The police shot 125 rounds of rubber bullets and five rounds of teargas canisters during the clash.
Director of Industrial Police-1, Dhaka (Ashulia) Mohammad Golam Roufe Khan told The Daily Star seven of his men were injured in the clash.
The workers vandalised around 30 vehicles during the clash, he added.
The industrial police hurled more than one hundred rounds of rubber bullets and 11 rounds of teargas canisters.
Different units of Hall-Mark Group, owned by Tanvir Mahmud, have been shut down recently following labour unrest. On October 14, around 50 people were injured after some 15,000 agitating workers of Hall-Mark Group's readymade garment factories in Savar clashed with police demanding their due salaries.
The Hall-Mark Group came to the spotlight after being accused of embezzling huge amount of money from the Ruposhi Bangla branch of Sonali Bank in Dhaka.
Hall-Mark Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud was arrested in the city in connection with the loan scam.
An investigation by the Bangladesh Bank found the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of Sonali Bank responsible for illegally disbursing loans of Tk 35.47 billion to Hall-Mark Group and five other companies between 2010 and May this year.