Mirpur clash: 4 cases filed against nearly 1,000

Four cases have been filed over clashes, vandalism and arson during a footpath eviction drive in the capital's Mirpur-10 area, with nearly 1,000 people accused in the cases.

Three cases were filed with Mirpur Model Police Station and another with Kafrul Police Station, police said.

The clashes erupted after a fire broke out during the eviction drive, prompting angry hawkers and shopkeepers to attack city corporation workers. 

The situation escalated when police arrived at the scene.

Police fired tear-gas shells after protesters hurled bricks and stones at them. Several police personnel were injured in the clashes.

Three Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) vehicles were set on fire, while the windows of a police vehicle were damaged. Traffic on the road between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-14 was halted for some time due to the violence.

Media workers also faced obstruction while attempting to photograph and record the clashes.

The DNCC resumed the eviction drive later in the afternoon, clearing makeshift shops from both sides of the footpaths between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-13.

DNCC Administrator Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khan visited the area in the afternoon and inspected the damaged site and the corporation’s burnt vehicles.

He said the attacks and arson appeared to be planned and called for legal action against those responsible, saying they should be identified through investigation and arrested.

Mirpur Model Police Station OC Hafizur Rahman said the DNCC had filed a case over the burning of its vehicles, while police filed another case over the attack on law enforcers. A third case was filed by traffic police.

The three cases together name around 400-500 people as accused, he said.

Kafrul Police Station OC Mohammad Saiful Islam said the DNCC had also filed a complaint over the burning of a city corporation vehicle. The case names around 400-500 unidentified people as accused, and police have launched drives to arrest those involved.

The eviction operation began around 9:30AM on Wednesday from the Mirpur-10 roundabout towards Hope Market. The drive was led by DNCC Executive Magistrate Marufa Begum Neli.

During the operation, an excavator reportedly struck and severed an electrical wire while removing a makeshift shop beneath the Baitul Quddus Jame Mosque Market near Hope Market, triggering a fire, according to local shopkeepers and eyewitnesses.

Five shops in the market were damaged by the fire. Two Fire Service units brought the blaze under control after about 15-20 minutes.