Residents of Dhaka’s Mohammadpur Geneva Camp locked into a clash with police when the latter went there to rescue a local councillor who came under their attack today.
Police had to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the residents, who have been protesting frequent load shadding in the area. Several people including the law enforcers were injured during the four-hour clash.
The clash left around 20 policemen injured, Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) told The Daily Star.
On the other hand, the residents of the camp claimed that some 20-30 Biharis were injured in the clash.
Around 11:30am today, the dwellers of Geneva camp blockaded Shahjahan road in Moahammadpur area for the second day, protesting frequent power outages.
Hearing the road blockade, Mizan, a councillor of ward No. 32, went to visit them from 12:30pm. But as soon as he reached there, the residents locked into an altercation with him, said Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
They beat up the councillor, the police official said.
On information, police rushed to the spot and tried to rescue him, he said.
But thousands of residents attacked the law enforcers and also used brickbats, forcing them to retaliate, he said.
The law enforcers fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them.
During the clash, some shops and houses were also vandalised, our correspondent reports from the spot.
Later, police conducted a drive in the camp and detained at least nine people from the spot.
The Geneva Camp residents are facing frequent load shedding as they have Tk 32 crore due to Dhaka Power Distributor Company (DPDC), DC Anisur Rahman said.
Asked about it, Md Shahid, one of the Bihari leaders, claimed that they never paid any electricity bill as it was taken care of by the United Nation (UN).
Every day, we are facing around 10 hours of power outage, he said.
