Police charge baton, sound grenade, tear-shells on protesting teachers
Police dispersed a march by primary school teachers protesting for three demands, including a pay grade increase. Several teachers were injured in baton charges. Tear gas shells, sound grenades, and hot water from water cannons were also used to disperse the teachers.
These assistant teachers of government primary schools had been staging a sit-in at the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka since Saturday morning. In the afternoon, when they marched towards Shahbagh, police blocked the procession with barricades. When teachers tried to break the barricades, police charged at them.
The teachers alleged that police attacked them without provocation. Police, however, said the teachers were stopped when they tried to advance towards the Chief Adviser’s residence at Jamuna.
The three demands of these assistant teachers are: raising assistant teachers’ pay to grade 10, 100 per cent departmental promotions, and higher grades upon completion of 10 and 16 years of service.
Around 3:30 pm, the teachers set off from the central Shaheed Minar towards Shahbagh. By 4:00pm, they reached in front of the central public library in Shahbagh, where they encountered a police barricade.
The teachers said their programme involved a march from Shaheed Minar to Shahbagh square and submitting pens to authorities for signing a proclamation. When police blocked them in front of the public library, they tried to break the barricade. Police first used tear gas shells and sound grenades, then resorted to batons and water cannons.
Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, president of the Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, told Prothom Alo, “Police attacked our peaceful programme. More than fifty teachers were injured, and two were taken away by police.”
Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge Khalid Monsur told Prothom Alo that when the teachers tried to move towards Jamuna, police set up a barricade in Shahbagh. When they attempted to break it, police dispersed them.
Regarding the arrests, he said, “Two or three individuals were brought to the station for questioning. Legal action will be taken against them after the inquiry.”
Asked about their next programme, Shamsuddin said, “We will now stay at Shaheed Minar and will proceed with a more intensive programme.”
Recently, MPO-registered teachers had also held demonstrations in Dhaka demanding their rights. Police baton-charging them to disperse the protests drew widespread criticism.