Clashes in Bhanga: DC writes to EC, DIG vows to ‘detain fascists’

Protests and unrest have been continuing in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur-4 constituency over the inclusion of Algi and Hamirdi unions within the neighbouring Faridpur-2 seat.

Against this backdrop, the Faridpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) has written to the election commission (EC) secretariat, terming the agitation a “people’s movement” and urging a reconsideration of the decision.

Meanwhile, government offices, police stations and the Highway Police outpost in Bhanga have come under attack from demonstrators.

Observing the situation, DIG of Dhaka Range, Rezaul Karim Mallik declared that he intended to detain the “fascists”.

On Monday, Deputy Commissioner Md Kamrul Hasan Molla sent a letter to the EC’s senior secretary, requesting that Algi and Hamirdi unions remain part of constituency 214, Faridpur-4.

The letter stated that the gazette notification of 4 September had redrawn the constituency boundaries, moving the two unions into Faridpur-2. Since then, residents of Bhanga have launched an agitation involving blockades of roads and railways, leading to a serious deterioration in law and order. On 15 September, protesters vandalised and set fire to the offices of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the upazila election office, Bhanga police station, the Highway Police office and several other government establishments, severely disrupting road and rail communication with 21 southern districts.

The DC also wrote that separating Algi and Hamirdi from Bhanga and attaching them to Faridpur-2 had angered ordinary residents of both constituencies.

He warned of a wider deterioration in law and order, and appealed for reconsideration so that the two unions might remain within Faridpur-4.

During the violence, at least 20 government offices, including Bhanga upazila parishad and the UNO’s office, as well as two police stations, were attacked.

DIG Rezaul Karim Mallik visited the area on Monday night. Later he told newspersons in Dhaka at midnight, “Those who are fascists will certainly be brought under the law. I have already instructed their arrest.”

Following yesterday’s incident, Highway Police operations have almost come to a halt.

“We have no patrol teams on the roads,” Bhanga Highway Police OC Mohammad Rokibuzzaman said on Tuesday morning.

“Our ambulance, three vehicles and the sergeants’ motorcycles have all been smashed. Without vehicles, patrolling is impossible, and the station’s work is paralysed,” he added

Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, the chairman of Hamirdi Union Parishad set out five demands on behalf of Bhanga residents. “Accept these demands, and we shall return home,” he wrote.

The demands are: reinstating Algi and Hamirdi unions within Bhanga upazila as part of Faridpur-4; releasing all detainees including the chairman; withdrawing false cases against innocent residents; refraining from filing fresh cases; and halting night-time harassment by the administration.