Clashes erupt at Jatiya Party rally in Kakrail, police use batons

The party called the rally with several demands, including the withdrawal of cases filed against GM Quader and other activists

Pitched battles have erupted between Jatiya Party (JaPa) activists and police surrounding a workers' rally called outside the party's central office in Dhaka’s Kakrail.

The police dispersed the rally by using baton charges along with firing tear gas shells and sound grenades following the incident, which occurred shortly after 3:30pm on Saturday.

Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Md Masud Alam said, "They were holding the rally by blocking the entire road. Initially, they were asked to leave the road and hold the rally on one side, but they ignored the request and continued the rally.”

Admitting that tear gas shells were lobbed to disperse the crowd, he said at around 4:15pm: “They left approximately half an hour ago, and the situation is currently normal.”

The JaPa faction was holding the “workers' rally” on Saturday afternoon with several demands, including the withdrawal of what they termed “false cases” filed against their chairman GM Quader and other activists, the release of arrested party members, and a free, fair and participatory election.

Earlier, party leaders, including Quader and Shameem Haider Patwary, attended the rally which was set up on a temporary stage on a truck. A large number of police personnel were deployed from before, as activists joined the rally in small processions from noon onwards.

Witnesses reported that at one point, tensions escalated between the activists attending the rally and police. To bring the situation under control, police used batons along with firing tear gas and sound grenades. The situation returned to normal after the activists eventually left the venue.

However, no injuries have been reported so far in connection with the incident.

The internal conflict within the party is becoming increasingly public, revolving around the decision of whether the party will participate in the upcoming national election.

Quader had called the workers' rally amid the tussle between factions over the party's electoral symbol -- the “plough”.