Mobile court comes under attack
Nabisco staff assault court members, lensmen
Staff Correspondent
Workers and employees of Nabisco Biscuit Factory, a concern of Bhaiya Group, assaulted the members of a mobile court and two photojournalists when the court went there to conduct a drive yesterday. As the mobile court led by Magistrate Tapan Kumar entered the factory in Tejgaon industrial area in the capital, the workers and employees started throwing different things at the team members, witnesses said, adding that the latter ran towards an office room of the factory and locked the door. The workers beat up and injured Prothom Alo photographer Munir Hossain and Amar Desh photographer Md Ibrahim. "They [factory men] broke my camera and snatched away a purse and cell phone," said Md Ibrahim who got treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. "After we managed to call Tejgaon Police Station, the law enforcers rescued us. The mobile court members were confined at the office room for nearly 40 minutes," Ibrahim added. Following the attack, the court comprising a magistrate, personnel from Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), Dhaka City Corporation and Directorate of Narcotics Control, media people, six BDR men, and two policemen, left the factory without conducting the drive. BDNEWS adds: Magistrate Tapan Kumar Biswas said, "As soon as we entered the factory, employees and officials started shouting abusive words at us and asked us to leave the factory." They attacked and injured the members of the mobile court, said the magistrate, adding, "At one stage, I called for additional forces and police from the Tejgaon Police Station rescued us." "We had conducted a drive in the factory earlier and found many defects. The decision to conduct a fresh drive was taken to verify whether the factory rectified its faults." "It is an act of contempt of court and attack on the government officials and law enforcers," he said. Police were preparing to file cases against the factory authorities on charge of contempt of court and creating obstruction to the government work, the duty officer of Tejgaon Police Station said. Besides, cases will be filed against six officials and workers of the factory, he added. Blaming the incident, Bangladesh Photojournalists Association demanded exemplary punishment of the culprits.
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