At least 50 people including BNP leaders and activists, and police were injured during clashes between demonstrators and law enforcers in Muktarpur area of Munshiganj town yesterday.

Three people were admitted to hospitals in the capital with serious injuries they suffered during what BNP leaders said was an unprovoked attack by police.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, BNP senior joint secretary general, told a press conference last night that over 100 BNP activists and leaders were injured in the attack by police.

Locals said most of the BNP activists and leaders went into hiding after the violence, and police raided the houses of the opposition activists for hours and detained the ones they could find. 

Contacted in the evening, Yasina Ferdous, additional superintendent of police in Munshiganj, said at least 15 people were detained in connection with the violence.

At Munshiganj Sadar Hospital, doctors treated 37 injured men and 32 of them were policemen, said Resident Medical Officer Sakhawat Hossain.

Witnesses said several hundred BNP activists and leaders attended a rally organised by the party's Munshiganj unit around 3:00pm.

Mohammad Mohiuddin, convener of Munshiganj Sadar BNP, said, "We were coming to the rally peacefully in small processions. Unprovoked, police barred us. As we still tried to join the rally, they attacked us with batons and opened fire."

Masud Rana, member-secretary of Munshiganj Jubo Dal, said Jubo Dal activist Jahangir Alam, BNP activist Shaon and Chhatra Dal activist Tareq were critically injured as they got shot by police.

A medical officer at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital last night said Shaon was unconscious and his injuries were critical.

Tareq told our DMCH correspondent that police hit him on the head with a firearm. Inspector Bacchu Miah of the DMCH police outpost said Jahangir was taken to Dhaka Dental Medical College Hospital.

However, Toriquzzaman, officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station, said the demonstrators first attacked police.

"We were in the area to maintain law and order. The BNP men attacked us with local weapons. Initially, we only tried to defend ourselves. When they grew more aggressive, we had to fire rubber bullets and use teargas to disperse them," he said, adding that he himself and an additional superintendent of police were injured.

The BNP men set fire to a few motorcycles parked in the area, he said.

Mohammad Rubel, 35, a correspondent of Daily Kalbela, was among the injured.

Speaking to the press at the party's central office in Nayapaltan, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged the government was killing BNP men as if it was a game.

Several hundred BNP leaders and activists later marched in Nayapaltan protesting the attack in Munshiganj.

[A correspondent from Munshiganj contributed to the report]