50 shops vandalised, 2 injured as students and traders clash at Agargaon's BNP Bazaar
Police and locals said the incident took place around 10:30pm yesterday
At least 50 shops were vandalised and two students were injured in a clash between traders and students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University over buying fish at BNP Bazaar in Agargaon, Dhaka last night (13 July).
Police and locals said the incident took place around 10:30pm yesterday.
Eyewitnesses said that around 8:30pm, a student named Shahadat Hossain from the Agricultural University came to the market to buy fish. At that time, an argument broke out between him and a fish seller named Noyon.
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The shopkeeper allegedly misbehaved with Shahadat. When Shahadat protested, another trader named Babu joined the altercation. Later, Shahadat returned to the market with 30–40 fellow students from the campus around 10pm.
When the students tried to take the fish seller Babu away, other traders intervened. A clash then broke out between the two sides.
During the scuffle, two students — Shahadat and Atik — were injured in an attack by the traders.
During the clash, traders confined a student named Mahmudul inside the market association's office. Meanwhile, seriously injured Shahadat was admitted to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, and Atik received primary treatment at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Pangu Hospital).
This information was confirmed by Abdullah, a student at the Agricultural University, and Rifat, a fish trader at the market.
Police said that after receiving news that Mahmudul had been confined, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police rescued him from inside the market. When news of this spread on campus, hundreds of students armed with sticks stormed the market around 10:30pm, vandalising fish stalls, nearby grocery shops, and the market committee's office.
Some traders alleged that the students carried out mass vandalism of shops.
Police said the Agricultural University's proctorial body filed a case around 1:30am over the injury of two students in an attack by fish traders.
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Imaul Haque said, "A case has been filed by the Agricultural University authorities. The incident is under investigation. The situation is now under control."
