Unrest rages over wage: RMG worker killed in clashes with police in Gazipur

Staff Reporter :
A garment employee died after suffering shotgun pellet wounds while protesting for higher wages in Gazipur’s Bason area on Monday afternoon.

The deceased was identified as Rasel Hawlader (26) an electrician at Design Express Limited, a garments factory. Hailing from Jhalakathi, Rasel used to live in a mess in Bason area.

Abu Sufian, Rasel’s colleague and roommate, said workers of several garment factories were agitating demanding enhancement of their wages.

Sufian said around 11:30am, when they were at Maleker Bari area, police fired at the protesting workers, hitting Rasel in the right hand and chest.

Abu Siddique, Officer-in-Charge of Bason Polic Station, said he could not know who shot Rasel.

Rasel was immediately rushed to a local hospital in Gazipur.

He was then shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where on duty doctors declared him dead around 3:30pm, inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH Police outpost said.

It was the seventh consecutive day of demonstrations by RMG workers, who blocked different points on the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail Highways in Gazipur, demanding minimum salary of Tk 23,000.

Agitating workers torched a vehicle near the Bhogra bypass.

A clash took place as police tried to stop the demonstrations and remove the blockade.

At one stage, police opened fire to disperse them, workers alleged.

Mosharraf Hossain, Additional Superintendent of Industrial Police in Gazipur said the workers protest began around 10:00am and they carried out vandalism at some places.

“They set a tyre and a pickup van on fire …we have done our best to bring the situation under control,” he added.

Mosharraf further said shotguns, tear gas shells and water cannons were used by law enforcers to disperse the agitating workers.