Three members of the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) were allegedly injured after cops charged batons to disperse their protest rally against rising cost of living at Shahbag junction Thursday. The Alliance enforced a half-day nationwide strike from 6am to 12pm in protest against the rising prices of fuel, fertilisers and daily essentials. “We were marching towards Shahbag intersection from the Banglamotor area peacefully when around 50 policemen, led by assistant deputy commissioner (Ramna zone) Harun-or-Rashid, swooped on us all of a sudden, injuring three of our activists,” said Rajib Kanti, president of the Chhatra Front’s Dhaka University (DU) unit. The injured LDA activists are currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), he added.

Left-leaning student bodies, including Bangladesh Chhatra Front, Chhatra Federation and Bangladesh Students Rights Protection Council, on Saturday staged demonstrations on the Dhaka University campus protesting the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed under police custody.

After having permission from the government, a good number of markets and shopping malls in Dhaka city have been operating their business since Sunday, worrying little about the risk of mass-transmission of coronavirus.