At least four policemen were hurt during a clash that resulted from a hawker eviction drive in Chittagong’s New Market area this afternoon.

Police lobbed tear shell canisters and fired rubber bullets to quell the outburst during the hour-long cat-and-mouse chase, our local staff correspondent reports.

Police tried to evict the hawkers to ease the traffic flow during the rush of Eid shopping, said Zahangir Alam, assistant commissioner of Kotwali zone of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

Primarily the cops were outnumbered and the hawkers showered brick chips forcing police to retreat, he said. Reinforced, police again conducted a drive later.

Four police personnel were hurt during the encounter, he said. Police were forced to use teargas canisters and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control.

Now the situation is under control and additional police force was deployed in the area to avoid any further deterioration of law and order, the police official said.