(English) 50 hurt in N’ganj eviction drive (Bangladesh)

(English) May 12, 2012

At least 50 people, including some police personnel, were hurt in clashes between police and residents of Narayanganj Railway Colony who were protesting against eviction of the colony on Saturday.

As the residents of the colony did not heed to a notice asking them to remove constructions on the Railways Division land, the authorities decided to launch the eviction drive, Executive Magistrate Abdur Rauf Talukder told bdnews24.com.

They also attacked the evictors, he added.

Quoting witnesses, Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station Officer in-Charge Manjur Quader said the residents of the colony hurled brickbats at a bulldozer and the police personnel who went to conduct the drive near Friends’ Market at Siraj-ud-Daula Road.

They later burned tyres on the road, he said.

Police charged baton on them to disperse them, Manjur said. «At least 50 people received injuries, including police officials.»

Additional police were deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident, the police official said.

Railway’s Divisional Estate Officer Ahmedul Kabir told bdnews24.com that they started recovering land of the Railways Division on both sides of the railway track.

«The quarters had been declared abandoned. We’ve decided to relocate the residents of the quarters to new quarters at Gymkhana,» he said.

Though the residents were given notice, they attacked the evictors, he said.

The authorities had launched a drive in January but postponed it following a request from the local representative, he added.

District Police Superintendent Sheikh Nazmul Alam said police fired 21 rounds of rubber bullet and 12 teargas shells to disperse the agitated residents of the colony.

Nine police officials, including the OC of Sadar Model Police Station and two Sub-Inspectors, were hurt in the attack, he said and added that the process to file a case was underway.

The residents of the colony, who said the government had leased them the quarters, organised a media conference later.

Station Colony Rakkha Sangram Committee Kamal Hossain told the conference that 42 shops and 110 houses on the land were evicted violating a High Court order.

«Furniture and valuables were looted,» he said.

People addressing the media demanded that the land be used for the welfare of the people instead of building market on it.

Source: bdnews24.com