At least 10 people were injured on Tuesday when two rival groups clashed in Darshana of Chuadanga over demands to hold the workers’ union election at Carew & Company.
The injured include company workers Abdul Motaleb, 50, Robiul Islam, 48, Saiful Islam Mokul, 50, Hirok, 48, Russel Uddin Togor, 50, and outsiders Salauddin, 35, and Uzzal, 40. All received varying degrees of injuries during the confrontation.
The violence began around 10:30am when a workers’ rally called by former Darshana Keru Workers’ Union president Taiyab Ali and former general secretary Monirul Islam Prince—was held demanding the long-pending union election.
At the rally, workers chanted slogans blaming former Keru president Firoz Ahmed Sobuj and Carew & Company managing director Rabbik Hasan for halting the polls.
According to several workers, MD Rabbik Hasan summoned Sobuj to his office during the rally. Sobuj and several council members entered the office, but soon after, Taiyab Ali and Monirul Islam Prince, accompanied by several outsiders, forced their way inside. An argument broke out inside the office with contract worker Motaleb, escalating into a clash.
Both sides later chased each other across the premises, witnesses said. Police and army personnel rushed to the scene and managed to bring the situation under control.
After Sobuj and his group left the area, Taiyab Ali and Prince regrouped with union workers and staged a sit-in in front of the Keru general office, continuing to demand the election. Tension remains high across the Keru campus.
Carew & Company Sugar Mill managing director Rabbik Hasan said both groups had been invited for discussions regarding the election. “As one side arrived, the other launched an abrupt attack,” he said, adding that efforts were ongoing to bring both sides to the table.
