Fulbaria erupts into violent protests
15 shopping centres closed, roads barricaded for hours over death of a salesman
Salesmen of Bangabazar shops in the capital barricaded the nearby Fulbaria intersection yesterday over the alleged killing of a salesman by his employer. Photo: SK Enamul Haq
Alleged killing of a salesman by his employer sparked violent protests and closure of at least 15 shopping centres yesterday in Fulbaria area in the capital.
The salesman, Aminur Rahman Rana, 35, an employee of SK Traders in Bangabazar market, died Sunday night after he had finished work and gone home.
Kamal Hossain, one of the owners of SK Traders, is said to have beaten up Rana earlier in the evening the same day.
At around 11:30 yesterday morning, agitated over the news of Rana's death, several hundred employees from different shopping centres in Fulbaria area poured in to the street and staged demonstrations in the area for hours.
As the workers barricaded the streets and shouted slogans demanding immediate arrest and punishment of Rana's killer, the surrounding streets witnessed a massive gridlock for at least a couple of hours.
A large contingent of police took position in the area and tried to calm the agitators. Police finally used force to disperse the agitators at around 2:00pm.
Elder brother of the deceased, Afsar Ali, said, "My brother threw up after coming home in the evening. At one stage he asked us to take him to the hospital and he died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital."
Afsar however said until yesterday morning, he was unaware that Rana's employer had beaten him the day before. They already buried Rana at Azimpur cemetery in the morning, he added.
A relative of Kamal Hossain, who owns six stores in the area and employs over 30 workers, said Kamal only slapped Rana on the day of the incident as he did not show up for work for a week without prior notice. Rana started working for Kamal six months ago and skipped work for over a total of two months on different occasions, he added.
One of Rana's co-workers told The Daily Star requesting anonymity, "We were stunned to find out that Rana had died due to the beating."
Police said Rana's brother filed a murder case with Shahbagh Police Station accusing Kamal Hossain, his business partner Khandaker Sirajuddin and a few others late last night, but no one was arrested till filing of this report early this morning.
Rana’s body is scheduled to be exhumed today for an autopsy to confirm the cause of death, police said.