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Four cases have been filed against around 2,000 people over clashes, vandalism and arson during a Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) drive to evict illegal roadside and footpath occupants in Mirpur-10.
The cases were filed on Thursday (October 1), with three at Mirpur Model Police Station and one at Kafrul Police Station.
Mirpur Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Hafizur Rahman said the DNCC filed a case over the burning of its vehicles, while police filed another over attacks on law enforcers and traffic police filed a third case.
Each of the three cases names around 400 to 500 people as accused.
Kafrul Police Station OC Mohammad Saiful Islam said the DNCC filed another case over the burning of a city corporation vehicle, accusing 400 to 500 unidentified people. Police have launched a drive to arrest those involved, he said.
The trouble erupted on Wednesday morning when the DNCC began an eviction drive from Mirpur-10 roundabout towards Hope Market to remove illegal shops and other encroachments from the footpaths.
The operation was led by DNCC Executive Magistrate Marufa Begum Nely.
According to local shopkeepers and eyewitnesses, an excavator hit an electrical wire while removing makeshift shops beneath the Baitul Quddus Jame Mosque Market near Hope Market, causing a fire.
Five shops were burnt in the fire. Two Fire Service units brought the blaze under control after around 15 to 20 minutes of efforts.
Soon after the fire broke out, angry hawkers and shopkeepers allegedly attacked DNCC personnel, triggering clashes. Police arrived at the scene and also became involved in clashes with the hawkers.
The hawkers hurled bricks and stones at police, who responded by firing tear-gas shells. Several police personnel were injured in the confrontation.
Three DNCC vehicles were set on fire during the clashes, while the glass of a police vehicle was also vandalised.
Traffic on the road between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-14 was disrupted for some time because of the violence. Journalists covering the incident also reportedly faced obstruction while taking photographs and recording videos.
The DNCC resumed the eviction drive later in the afternoon, removing makeshift shops from both sides of the road between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-13.
