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Dhaka police have filed a case against 700 unnamed individuals over a violent “mob” attack on an Uttara shopping mall, reportedly triggered by a rumour that a rickshaw driver had been killed.
Uttara Paschim Police chief Kazi Rafiq Ahmed confirmed the filing of the case on Monday.
"The report of a rickshaw puller being beaten to death is fake. A mob was created specifically to loot goods from the shopping mall," he said.
The officer said they were reviewing CCTV footage from the market to identify the suspects and arrest them.
The violence erupted late Sunday night at the Uttara Square Shopping Mall in Sector 11.
According to police, the trouble began over a dispute regarding rickshaw parking outside the mall.
Witnesses said a security guard asked a rickshaw puller to move his vehicle. When the driver refused, the guard reportedly struck the back of the rickshaw with a stick.
The situation escalated rapidly as other rickshaw and auto-rickshaw drivers gathered, and a rumour began to circulate that a driver had been killed.
This drew in local residents, transforming the gathering into a large, agitated mob that launched repeated attacks on the complex, police said.
The area turned into a "battlefield" when police arrived to disperse the crowd.
Officers were forced to fire tear gas and sound grenades to bring the situation under control. At least six police personnel were injured during the clashes.
Additional Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Nazrul Islam visited the site on Monday.
He reiterated that the claim of a driver being beaten and detained inside the mall was "entirely a rumour".
While the police have initiated their legal action, mall traders are also preparing to file a separate case to recover damages for the widespread vandalism and theft.
Police remained deployed outside the market on Monday.