Dhaka: At least one person was reported killed and hundreds detained in Dhaka on October 18 as the Bangladeshi Army enforced a government crackdown to stem rising crime.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government has deployed some 40,000 Army soldiers across the country since early October 17 in a massive swoop to curb violence, which has been a major political issue.

In the Western district of Bogra, demonstrations erupted on October 17 when troops tried to arrest several local leaders of Zia's own Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Soldiers opened fire to clear a protest blockade of a road, killing a rickshaw driver and injuring three others, newspapers reported.

In the South Western district of Khulna, the main Opposition Awami League party called a general strike after troops detained a former MP and Parliamentary whip Mustafa Rashidi Suja, his son and 14 others, the reports said.

There was no official comment on the incidents on October 18.

Newspapers said up to 500 people have been detained in the crackdown, both from the ruling party and the Opposition and including half-a-dozen elected city councillors in the capital Dhaka and other cities.