Shillong, July 30: Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clashed with police in Dhaka while demanding polls under a non-party interim government in early 2024. As a result, 90 protesters were detained, and the clashes caused injuries to 20 policemen and six protesters.
The clashes involved the vandalism of around 30 vehicles, including 10 police vehicles, according to Faruque Hossain, a spokesman for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), as reported by Xinhua news agency.
As per IANS, the protesters gathered to block traffic on key arterial routes in the capital city, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In response, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the agitators who had attacked them with sticks.
The sit-in program at all entry points of Dhaka was announced by the BNP on Friday. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, a leader of the BNP, has been in jail since her conviction in a corruption case in February 2018.
As the Awami League government, led by Prime Minister Hasina, enters the last year of its third consecutive tenure this year, tensions and demands for political change continue to surface.