A Dhaka court has given police one and a half months to submit investigation reports in three cases against nearly 1,400 people, including Dhaka College students and shop owners, in connection with the violent clashes that roiled the New Market area.
Metropolitan Magistrate Shuvra Chakrabarty set June 7 for the submission of the reports after admitting the charges on Thursday.
New Market Police Station SI Mehedi Hasan started a case under the Explosives Act while Inspector Yamin Kabir from the station filed another case carrying charges of rioting, arson and obstructing police work.
Meanwhile, Md Sayeed pressed murder charges over the death of his nephew, Nahid Mia, a deliveryman who was fatally injured during the clashes.
All three cases were recorded on Wednesday, according to New Market Police Station chief SM Kaiyum.
Up to 200 unnamed people are implicated in the case filed by Mehedi while Sayeed accused around 150 unidentified suspects, reports bdnews24.com.
Meanwhile, Yamin named 24 suspects in his case along with around 300 unidentified traders and shop workers and up to 700 college students.
Asked about the suspects named in the case, Kaiyum said, "They have been identified as the inciters. We can't provide any more details at this time."
Shop workers clashed with students for nearly two and a half hours in the small hours of Tuesday before police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. The clashes resumed in the morning, further crippling Dhaka’s slow Ramadan traffic.
Business leaders, citing security camera footage, said a feud between workers at two food stores dragged Dhaka College students into it, ultimately leading to the violence as conflicting accounts of the start of the skirmishes continued to pour in.
The fighting that raged throughout Tuesday left two people dead and scores injured.