Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said that poor coordination among the authorities involved in a hawker eviction drive may have contributed to the clashes in Mirpur, where a police vehicle and three city corporation vehicles were set on fire.
The minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a meeting on Durga Puja security arrangements at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
Asked whether there had been prior intelligence about the city corporation’s plan to conduct the eviction drive with police support, Salahuddin said he had ordered an investigation into the incident.
“Based on the information I have received so far, I have ordered an investigation. I learned that the magistrate concerned and officials of the city corporation or RAJUK did not properly communicate with the police. I believe there was a lack of coordination,” he said.
He added that the matter would be examined further.
The clashes occurred during a Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) eviction drive launched around 10am on Wednesday to clear illegal encroachments from footpaths and roads between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-14.
At one stage, hawkers clashed with city corporation officials and law enforcement personnel. During the clash, three city corporation vehicles were set on fire and a police vehicle was vandalised, according to witnesses.
Several media personnel were also allegedly attacked by hawkers while covering the incident.
