DHAKA, 2 July 2006 — At least 20 people were injured when enraged soccer fans ransacked a power station in the Bangladesh capital after a power cut knocked out coverage of the crucial World Cup match between Argentina and Germany, police said yesterday.
The power distribution office at the city’s Nazimuddin Road area came under attack by hundreds of fans on Friday night as hosts Germany beat Argentina 4-2 on penalties in Berlin. The fans clashed with police who tried to disperse them by using batons, witnesses said. More than 500 fans attacked the power station, police chief Abdul Matin said.
“At least 20 people including six jail police officers were injured as they were pelted with stones and bricks by the enraged fans,” the police official said. A large number of police rushed to the scene to disperse the fans who turned the area into a battleground. Police dispersed the crowd using batons, he said.
Meanwhile, authorities tightened security across the country yesterday ahead of a planned countrywide transport blockade to press the government to accept opposition demands for electoral reforms.
A 14-party alliance led by former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed, chief of the main opposition Awami League, called for a shutdown of all transport, including trains, buses and ferries, today. “We will enforce the blockade at all costs,” said Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil. Bangladesh is due to hold its next parliamentary election in January 2007.
But the opposition wants Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to remove Chief Election Commissioner M.A. Aziz immediately for his alleged pro-government bias, and a say in choosing a caretaker administration to supervise the polls. The government plans to deploy some 10,000 extra police and paramilitary troops in the capital Dhaka today while additional forces would also move to other cities.
