At least 16 people were injured as police fired teargas shells on demonstrators at Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka on Tuesday, during a strike enforced protesting at the government decision to hike gas prices.
Leaders of Pragatishil Chhatra Jote, a combine of leftist student organisations, said police fired teargas shells and water cannon on their activists when they took out a procession rally in the area around 10:00am, leaving the 16 injured.
The police also picked up seven protesters from the spot, added the leaders.
Three of the detainees are leaders of the Samajtantrik Chhatra Front. Two of them have been identified as Nasir Uddin and Bhajon.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and the Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) called a half-day hartal in the capital between 6:00am and 12 noon today (Tuesday).
Earlier in the morning, the protesters put a barricade in Shahbagh intersection that stopped the movement of the vehicles in the area.
The protester's leaders also said they have also brought out protest rallies in different parts of the city.