A clash erupted in Siddhirganj upazila of Narayanganj on Friday over a hawker eviction drive, leaving at least five individuals injured, police and witnesses said.

The incident took place around 6:00pm at Shimrail intersection.

The injured were identified as Ripon, Khorshid, Abdul Hannan, Rubel and Rajib.

Following the clash, agitated hawkers blocked a lane of the Dhaka–Chattogram highway for around 30 minutes, disrupting traffic movement on the busy route.

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According to hawkers, they have been selling fruits and other goods in the Shimrail area for a long time. They alleged that some activists of Jatiotabadi Chatrodal (JCD) suddenly started an eviction drive on Friday evening without prior warning, during which they were assaulted and their goods were vandalised and looted.

However, denying the allegations, former JCD leader Sifat-ur-Rahman Raju said the eviction was carried out to ease traffic congestion. He claimed that hawker Rubel assaulted a JCD member named Babul Hossain after a dispute over moving a table, prompting them to intervene.

He also said they did not carry out any attack and that hawkers later blocked the highway, causing public suffering.

Police from Siddhirganj Police Station brought the situation under control after receiving information.

Sub-Inspector Zakirul Alam said the eviction attempt triggered a brief tension, and later hawkers blocked a lane of the highway, which was cleared after police intervention.

He added that the victims were advised to file written complaints, and the situation is now normal.