Labour leader killed in Gazipur attack, RMG factory manager sued

The manager of a garment factory and 12 others were sued on Monday over the murder of a labour leader in an attack in front of the factory in Gazipur city late Sunday night amid workers' dissatisfaction over their due salaries and bonus.

Kalpona Akter, president of the federation, filed the case with Tongi West Police Station, accusing 12/13 people, naming six including the factory manager.

Shahidul Islam, the president of the Gazipur unit of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, was leaving Prince Jacquard Sweaters Limited factory on Sunday night following discussions with workers amid dissatisfaction over their dues, Kalpona said in the case statement.

Some men attacked Shahidul and punched him in the chest randomly, leaving him unconscious.

Later, he was taken to Tairunnessa Memorial Medical College Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

Shahidul had been called to the factory to negotiate over the due salaries and the Eid bonus of the workers, the statement said.

The plaintiff alleged that the attack was carried out by the people of the factory owner.

Tongi West Police Station officer in charge Md Shah Alam told The Business Standard, police already arrested the key accused in the case, adding that the murder stemmed from a feud with another labour organisation.

However, Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told TBS that none of the owners were involved in the attack, rather it was an infighting between leaders of two trade unions.

Despite multiple calls over the phone, Prince Jacquard Sweaters Limited Chairman Saef Uddin was unavailable to make a comment.

The Industrial Bangladesh Council in Gazipur yesterday formed a human chain in front of the Gazipur DC office in protest against this incident. Workers also staged a protest in Narayanganj against this incident.