On Monday, agitators took up positions in front of Siddhirganj Police Station to demand the release of 32 people who were apprehended from the Sumilpara Bihari Colony in connection with an attack on a policeman.
Around 9 am, they blocked the Narayanganj-Adamjee-Demra road in protest.
Tensions boiled over when police fired shotgun shells and tear gas, turning the Adamjee-Chashara road into a battlefield as a series of chases and counter-chases ensued, according to witnesses.
The protesters also set up barricades on the road using various objects including posts and wooden sticks.
Traffic in the area came to a standstill as a result. The road outside the Adamjee Bihari Colony was also brimming with people.
Siddhirganj Police Station chief Moshiur Rahman later told reporters that a policeman was beaten inside the Adamjee Shahi Jame Mosque in the camp after the Jummah prayers on Friday.
A case was subsequently filed against 125 people, including 50 named suspects, over the incident.
Police later launched a raid that lasted until Monday morning and arrested 32 people, including the accused in the case and drug dealers on charges related to various crimes.
And when residents of the Bihari colony descended onto the streets to demand their release, police personnel intervened to maintain order, according to Moshiur.
"They threw brickbats at the police. Police later calmed the situation by firing hundreds of tear gas shells and rubber bullets. At least 15 people, including four policemen, were injured in the incident. They are being treated in a local hospital," he said.
However, Liaquat Hossain, the chairman of Sumilpara Bihari camp, claimed that many of the detainees had not gone to the mosque or taken part in the attack on the policeman on Friday.
"A large police contingent raided the camp and arrested 32 people. But they also detained those who did not go to the mosque as well as those who were not involved in the attack on the police SI. Many men and women were beaten during the raid. This made the camp residents angry."
Liaquat added that when the protesters went to the police station, the law enforcers beat them with sticks and fired tear gas. He demanded the immediate release of the detainees.
Citing the case, the police said that during the Jummah prayers, the mosque's imam spoke out in protest over the derogatory comments made by a member of India's ruling party against the Prophet Muhammad.
But SI Azizul Haque requested worshippers not to use the incident in India as an issue to disrupt the peace in the area. He was subsequently attacked and beaten, according to the police.