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Police have charged batons on journalists when they were covering the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections at the premises of the apex court on Wednesday.
The journalists were taking photos and videos of police action during a clash between pro-Awami League and pro-BNP lawyers over the elections.
Jabed Akter, reporter of ATN News; Ibrahim Hossain, cameraperson of Boishakhi TV; Abdullah Al Maruf, multimedia reporter of Manabjamin; Humayun Kabir, cameraperson of ATN Bangla; Solaiman Swapan, cameraman of Somoy TV; Mehedi Hasan, cameraman of DBC; Fazlul Haque, reporter of Jago News and SM Nur Mohammad, reporter of Ajker Patrika were among the injured.
Of them, Jabed Akter was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, reports UNB.
The two-day voting in the SCBA election started around 10:00 am on Wednesday. The elections were reportedly suspended immediately when some pro-BNP lawyers staged demonstrations demanding the formation of an election conducting committee led by a neutral person.
When the situation turned chaotic, police charged batons on the lawyers and journalists, leaving 10 people injured, said Barrister Kaisar Kamal, BNP law affairs secretary.
Barrister Kaisar Kamal said, “Police charged baton on some lawyers including Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Ruhul Kuddus Kajal. We have informed it to the Chief Justice.”
A seven-member sub-committee led by senior lawyer Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, was formed earlier for conducting the election. But he resigned from the post on personal ground on March 13.
Later, pro-Awami League Ainjibi Parishad formed a sub-committee led by freedom fighter Maniruzzaman while the pro-BNP Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Oikya Panel formed another committee headed by ASM Moktar Kabir.
Besides, miscreants tore down 3000 ballot papers sometime on Tuesday night. A tense situation has been prevailing in the Supreme Court area over the issue.