Police on Sunday dispersed a group of sacked Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) members as they attempted to march towards the Chief Adviser’s official residence ‘Jamuna’ in the capital with a three-point demand.
The former border guards, carrying a banner that read “We Want Justice for BDR Members,” gathered in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh around 11:00 am.
About half an hour later, they began marching towards Jamuna via Sheraton Crossing, but were blocked by police. They then turned back and moved towards Matsya Bhaban crossing.
At about 12:30 pm, the demonstrators reached Kakrail Mosque where police had set up another cordon. Law enforcement responded by deploying water cannons, blasting sound grenades and charging with batons, dispersing the crowd by around 1:00 pm.
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“They tried to move towards Jamuna defying police's obstacles. We were compelled to use water cannon and sound grenades to disperse them,” officer-in-charge of Ramna Police Station Golam Faruq told UNB.
One protesting ex-BDR member said, “We want our jobs back and the innocent BDR members who are in jail must be freed.”
The demonstrators’ three demands are reinstatement to service, release of jailed members after the 2009 Pilkhana mutiny, and related relief measures.