Supporters of Bangladesh's ex-PM go on rampage
Source: Reuters
(Adds details, call for more protests) By Nizam Ahmed DHAKA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Supporters of Bangladesh's detained former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, went on a rampage in Dhaka on Monday, burning and damaging vehicles in a protest in which one man was killed and nine injured, police said. The protesters were demanding that the country's army-backed interim administration allow Khaleda's ailing son to go abroad for medical treatment. Both Khaleda and Tareque Rahman, her son and likely political heir, have been under detention for more than a year and face charges of graft and abuse of power. The victim, a trader, died after he was hit by metal pieces from a natural gas-powered vehicle that exploded after the crowd set it on fire, police said. The protests began after television channels reported Tareque had stumbled and hurt himself in a Dhaka hospital where he was being treated for a broken spinal chord. Riot police took up positions in all the entrances of the sprawling Dhaka University, where the protests erupted on Monday. Witnesses said calm was restored later but the area remained tense as police tightened security around the campus. Doctors had earlier urged Bangladesh's army-backed interim government to allow Tareque to travel abroad for medical treatment. Tareque, who is too weak to walk without help, fell on the floor of a toilet and hurt his head. He is receiving treatment, a doctor at the hospital told reporters. The government has said it was assessing Tareque's condition. Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) urged party members and supporters to stage more protests if the former prime minister and her son were not released. More than 170 key political figures, including Khaleda's former rival Sheikh Hasina, another former prime minister, have been detained as part of a crackdown on corruption. Hasina was paroled in July to get treatment in the United States for ear and eye ailments. (Editing by Paul Tait)
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