Dhaka: Baton-wielding police clashed with protesters yesterday as a general strike called to protest the slaying of an opposition lawmaker brought Bangladesh to a near standstill.

Clashes erupted in Dhaka and the nearby industrial town Tongi, where Ahsanullah Master, a lawmaker from the opposition Awami League, was gunned down at a rally on Friday.

At least 30 people were injured after police used batons to disperse hundreds of protesters at both rallies, witnesses said. Several demonstrators were arrested on rioting charges, they said.

Violence between protesters and police was also reported in the southeastern port city of Chittagong and eastern Chandpur town, but there were no reports of injuries.

In its third-consecutive day, the strike was called by the opposition party to protest Master's death, which it blames on government supporters. Authorities said they suspect his murder may be linked to an internal party feud.

The nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike shut down schools and shops in Dhaka, a city of 10 million people. Streets were empty of traffic except a few state-run buses and rickshaws.
Many commuters walked to work yesterday.

Riot police manned barbed-wire barricades erected around the headquarters of the Awami League in central Dhaka, preventing its members from taking to the streets.

Security was similarly tight in Tongi and more than 60 other cities and towns where the strike took hold, the opposition said.

The Awami League often calls general strikes to highlight its demands or embarrass the government, and the strikes frequently turn violent.

Authorities deployed several thousand police and paramilitary soldiers on the streets of Dhaka and Tongi to try to prevent violence during the strike.