Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said a lack of coordination among authorities involved in a hawker eviction drive may have contributed to the clashes in Mirpur, where a police vehicle and three city corporation vehicles were set on fire.

He made the remarks while responding to reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat on preparations for Durga Puja celebrations.

Asked whether authorities had prior intelligence about the Dhaka North City Corporation’s (DNCC) plan to conduct the eviction drive with police support, the home minister said he had ordered an investigation into the incident.

“From what I have learned initially, I have ordered an investigation. I learned that the magistrate responsible and the officials from the city corporation or RAJUK did not properly communicate with the police. I think there was a lack of coordination,” he said.

He added that the matter would be investigated further.

Earlier in the day, a clash broke out between hawkers, DNCC officials and police during the eviction drive in Mirpur.

The drive began around 10am from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-14 as part of the DNCC’s efforts to clear footpaths and roads of illegal encroachments.

At one stage, hawkers clashed with city corporation officials and law enforcement personnel.

A city corporation vehicle was set on fire and a police vehicle was vandalised during the clash, witnesses said.

Several media workers covering the incident were also attacked, allegedly by hawkers.