DHAKA, Bangladesh - On Tuesday, police and industrial workers clashed on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur, injuring at least seven persons, including five law enforcement officers.

Abdur Noor, Inspector of Gazipur Industrial Police, stated, "I was injured when a brick thrown by the workers struck my head."

"I'm currently admitted to Al Hera Hospital. Four constables were also injured during the confrontation."

According to our Gazipur correspondent, the clash began around noon when hundreds of Anwara Knit Composite plant employees blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, demanding payment of attendance bonuses and accrued annual leave.

The route was blocked for two hours because a demonstration in the Mauna Palli Bidyut area delayed vehicular traffic.

Superintendent Sarwar Alam of the Gazipur Industrial Police said, "We asked the workers to disperse their blockade peacefully, but they responded by throwing bricks at the police."

"One police inspector was hurt. In self-defense, the industrial police deployed sound grenades and rubber bullets to restore order," he said.

Protesters alleged that two of their members were hurt during the police engagement.

The protesting workers claimed that they worked for meager salaries and were confronted with police batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets when they demanded their rightful pay.

Despite working hard for 10 to 12 hours daily, they do not receive their salaries on schedule.

Mostafizur Rahman Sayim, a Human Resources Department officer at the Anwara Knit Composite firm, stated that the workers came to the facility in the morning but did not begin work; instead, they staged a peaceful sit-in. After that, they began demanding their accrued yearly leave payment.

He said that despite assurances that the outstanding payments would be resolved within the current month following consultations with higher authorities, the workers blocked the highway and protested.