Garment workers at Dhaka’s Malibagh have taken to the streets on Tuesday (Jan 1) after the death of two female colleagues in a road accident.
Earlier in the day, the garment workers were killed after a bus run over them at Malibagh’s Chowdhurypara area.
Several hundred garment workers took to the streets in Malibagh following the deaths and began vandalising vehicles as well as setting fire to some of them.
The agitating workers also vandalised dozens of vehicles and torched at least two others protesting the accident.
The line of damaged vehicles stretched from Malibagh to Rampura, according to witnesses, who said that several kilometres of the road have been blocked.
The deaths of two female garment workers in a road accident in Dhaka’s Hatirjheel have triggered a protest from their colleagues.
Police said the victims, who have been identified 15-year-old Meem and 20-year-old Pervin, were hit by a bus while crossing the street at Chowdhurypara.
“Meem died on the spot and while a critically injured Pervin was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries,” Sergeant Subrata Kumar Deb of Dhaka metro police told Bangla Tribune.
Critically injured, Pervin was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries, said Subrata.
The bus has been seized and the driver arrested, said Hatirjheel police OC Abul Fazlul Karim.