20 hurt in picket-cop clash in Chandpur

Pickets set fire to timber blocking Comilla-Chandpur highway Saturday morning during a dawn-to-dusk shutdown enforced by BNP in Kachua upazila of Chandpur. Photo: Star

At least twenty people including eight policemen were injured when pickets clashed with law enforcers Saturday afternoon during a dawn-to-dusk hartal (shutdown) enforced by local BNP in Kachua upazila of Chandpur.
Pro-hartal activists blocked the Comilla-Chandpur highway and vandalised at least 20 vehicles since morning, reports our Chandpur correspondent quoting Md Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kachua Police Station.
BNP Kachua unit enforced the hartal protesting the death of Delwar Hossain Dulal, vice president of the unit, in police custody.
The clash ensued when pickets hurled brick chips targeting the policemen at Khabar Teguria intersection in the upazila around 1:00pm, said the police official.
To take the situation under control, police fired 30 shotguns and lobbed seven teargas canisters to disperse the pickets from Dhaka-Kachua road in Ghagra area adjacent to the intersection, leaving at least 12 pickets injured, the OC added.
Eight policemen including a sub-inspector were also injured during the clash, he added.
Police picked up five pickets from the spot.
In the morning, the pro-hartal activists blocked the highway setting fire to straw at Subidpur and timber at Jagatpur for an hour since 6:00am.
They also blocked the highway putting barricade on Kachua-Dhaka highway at Palakhal, Rahimanagar and Sachar.
Besides, the hartal supporters brought out several processions at Kachua municipality area in the morning in support of their hartal started since 6:00am.
ANM Ehsanul Haque, president of the upazila BNP unit, also former education minister, declared the hartal after Dulal, 35, died at Comilla Medical College Hospital at 12:30am Friday.
Quoting hospital sources, Chandpur jail superintendent Md Abdullah Al Mamun said Dulal had been suffering from different diseases including fever and gastric problem at Chandpur jail for the last few days.
He was taken to the hospital Thursday morning where he died, the superintendent said.
Dulal was in Chandpur jail from September, he added.