A group of unidentified miscreants set fire to a warehouse of a readymade garment (RMG) factory named Big Boss Corporation Ltd, a sister concern of Beximco Group, located at Bhabanipur under Kashimpur Police Station in Gazipur district on Wednesday.
Tasharaf Hossain, station master of the Kashimpur Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) in Gazipur, confirmed that the fire broke out at around 1:00pm.
He said, on information, when two units of FSCD rushed to the spot, the fighters came under attacks of by the miscreants and some workers of different other factories in the area. Later, the fighters were forced to return to the station.
The workers of Big Boss Corporation Ltd tried to control the fire using their own equipment, Tasharaf Hossain said.
Earlier in the day, workers from Beximco Group, located next to Big Boss, had been staging a demonstration demanding payment of salary arrears.
The station master added that it was unclear who was responsible for setting the fire.
Witnesses said, the Big Boss Warehouse was burning for more than eight hours after the miscreants set it on fire amid ongoing protests by the workers of various RMG factories over unpaid salaries.
They said, firefighters were only able to reach the scene after more than four hours at around 4:45pm as they were barred from reaching the spot.
"We took attempts several times to reach the spot, but some people swooped on us and vandalised our vehicle. We have not been to the site yet," said an official of the FSCD, adding that engines from other fire stations were also working to douse the flames.
Zahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kashimpur Police Station, however, said workers from several factories in the Beximco Industrial Park were involved in the incident.
The workers blocked the Kaliakoir-Nabinagar road on Wednesday morning, halting traffic on both sides. Demonstrators also urged workers from neighboring factories to join the protest. During the chaos, some protesters set fire to the warehouse, reports our correspondent quoting locals.
Abdullah Arefin, deputy assistant director of Gazipur Fire Service, said agitating workers from nearby factories set the Big Boss warehouse ablaze.
