Police on Thursday arrested seven workers in connection with unrest at NASSA Group鈥檚 factories in Narsinghapur area of Ashulia at Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka.
On the day, NASSA Group鈥檚 16 apparel factories located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram and Cumilla export processing zone were shut permanently as per a decision made at a tripartite meeting on Tuesday.
鈥楾he arrested were saboteurs and miscreants who infiltrated into the worker protests with the intention of carrying out violent acts,鈥� superintendent of Dhaka district police Anisuzzaman told reporters at Savar Gono University on Thursday.
鈥楴ASSA Group held discussions with the ministry concerned. A decision was made to sell certain assets in order to pay the workers鈥� due wages. The owners sought time, but a small group instigated violence the very next day, injuring police and even attacking army personnel on duty,鈥� he said.
Police identified one of those arrested as Tipu Sultan, a line chief at a NASSA Group factory, who, they said, previously had ties with the now banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League which was removed from power in a mass uprising on August 5 past year.
A police source said that Tipu had played a key role in organising protests.
The arrests came after workers on Wednesday blocked roads at Ashulia, an industrial hub, demanding payment of arrears and the reopening of closed factories. Police used water cannons to disperse them.
Past week, NASSA Group, which operated the 16 apparel factories employing about 12,000 workers, abruptly shut productions without settling outstanding wages.
As per the memorandum of understanding signed at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, workers would receive their dues for August by October 15 and for September by October 30. No worker will be blacklisted.
Arif Ahmed Khan, an additional inspector at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, chaired Tuesday鈥檚 meeting held at the DIFE headquarters in the capital Dhaka.
Representatives from the Bangladesh Army, Industrial Police-01, intelligence agencies, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, factory owners and workers attended the meeting.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweater Workers Union, criticised the arrests.
Closing the factories without an alternative plan was a mistake, he said, adding that the government could have appointed an administrator to keep the factories running.
鈥榃e demand either reopening the factories or arranging alternative employment,鈥� he added.
NASSA Group, founded in 1990 by former EXIM Bank chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder, was once among Bangladesh鈥檚 leading exporters.
But the conglomerate has faced mounting crises since the ouster of the Awami League government.
Nazrul, now in jail on various charges, including corruption and money laundering, was removed from EXIM Bank鈥檚 board past year along with his wife.
The group鈥檚 financial troubles worsened as banks restricted the opening of letters of credit for it and foreign buyers delayed orders, leading to months of wage delays and repeated protests at Ashulia.
