Police opened fire on workers of a bidi factory in Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila on Saturday leaving 5 workers reportedly injured with bullet.

Police, however, claimed that one worker was injured in bullet.

The incident took place at Akij Bidi factory in Hossainabad of the upazila.

Witnesses said about 30/40 workers came to the factory gate at about 8: am half an hour late of entering period into the factory. The security guards of the factory prevented them from entering. This created chaos there.

At one stage, when the situation became heated, the factory manager Aminul Islam appeared to the spot and tried to stop the workers. The workers said they had to come from the remote Padma Char. Due to the fog in the morning, the locally made Nasimon transport carrying them failed to arrive on time. The workers requested to passage them into work.

When the manger refused to let them in, the workers began protesting at the factory gate.

Sensing the situation, manager informed the matter to Daulatpur police station. At around 10 am, the police came and charged sticks to force the workers to leave. The workers also threw bricks at the police at one stage.

Police later fired several rounds of blank shots to control the situation. The workers were dispersed and five workers received bullet.

Later, all workers of the factory stopped working and took a stand on Kushtia-Pragpur road in Hossainabad bazar.

Several hundred workers of several factories in the Filipinagar area of ​​the upazila also joined to the aggrieved workers.

One of the bullet owned workers named Shipul Islam was found at Daulatpur upazila health complex.

Others have reportedly sought medical treatment elsewhere to avoid arrest.

Daulatpur Police Station Officer0-In-charge Zahurul Alam said the situation is calm now. He confirmed that one worker had been shot.

The workers returned to the home after Daulatpur upazila Parishad chairman Ezaj Ahmed Mamun assured them to take step on the demand of the workers.