Two factions of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 workers union at Nagar Bhaban, the Dhaka South City Corporation headquarters, allegedly clashed on Tuesday.
The clash broke out just a day after partial reopening of Nagar Bhaban following a shutdown of over a month demanding BNP leader Ishraque Hossain鈥檚 mayoral oath.
The groups鈥攖he Dhaka South City Corporation Sramik Karmachari Union rallying for Ishraque, and the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Karmachari Union, known as anti-Ishraque鈥攃lashed at about 11:30am on the day, leaving at least 18 people injured.聽
After visiting the injured members of DSCC Sramik Karmachari Union at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the afternoon, Ishraque told reporters that several corrupt DSCC employees, along with 鈥榝ascist Awami League鈥檚 allies, hired outsiders to attack the protesters rallying for his mayoral oath.
鈥楾en people received primary treatment, and three were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition,鈥� he said, adding that Arifuzzaman Prince and Golam Kibria led the attack while chanting slogans in his name to make it appear as a clash between two BNP groups and聽 to disrupt civic services.
Jatiyatabadi Sramik Karmachari Union general secretary Arifuzzaman Prince told 抖阴精品 that several city corporation employees who were not involved in the protest demanding Ishraque鈥檚 mayoral oath were barred from entering Nagar Bhaban after it reopened, while some were beaten and forced out of the office.
He also said that he went to Nagar Bhaban with his group to resolve the issue, but a clash erupted when a member of the DSCC Sramik Karmachari Union attacked him.
Arifuzzaman said that five people, including him, were injured in the clash.聽聽聽
He also alleged that the DSCC Sramik Karmachari Union was involved in extortion at Nagar Bhaban, and those who refuse to pay are harassed and labelled as sympathisers of the National Citizen Party or Awami League.
DSCC Sramik Karmachari Union president Arif Chowdhury could not be reached for comment.聽
According to witnesses, during the clash, a journalist who tried to capture the incident on video was reportedly threatened at knifepoint, and several other journalists were also threatened and prevented from taking videos and photos of the incident.
On May 29, both the groups clashed at Buriganga hall of Nagar Bhaban leaving several of them injured.聽聽聽聽
The offices of the administrator and the engineering division at Nagar Bhaban, however, remained closed as of Tuesday in line with the announcement made by Ishraque鈥檚 supporters, said DSCC officials.
Ishraque鈥檚 supporters have been protesting at Nagar Bhaban since May 14, demanding his swearing-in as the DSCC mayor, and the next day they locked down the Nagar Bhaban and zonal offices.
Their demands followed a ruling by the Election Tribunal on March 27, which nullified the 2020 mayoral election results due to alleged widespread rigging and declared Ishraque the rightful mayor.
On April 27, the Election Commission issued a gazette notification following the tribunal鈥檚 order, but the Local Government Division has so far refused to administer the mayoral oath, citing legal complexities.