Railway staff confine two magistrates

Railway employees kept two magistrates confined and halted rail communications for nearly two hours at Rajshahi Railway Station yesterday after a mobile court caught three booking assistants red-handed for scalping tickets.

The mobile court led by executive magistrates Samar Kumar Pal and Faysal Haque assisted by railway police raided the station around 6:00pm.

According to Rab, police and district administration, they caught three booking staff and four outsiders for selling tickets on black market.

As they were about to take the held persons out of the station, the railway staff surrounded them and halted the scheduled trains.

The magistrates were freed after they released the held persons in presence of former Rajshahi mayor and Rajshahi city Awami League General Secretary AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, who “happened to be present”.

“The railway staff threatened to go on a strike and said their jobs would be at stake if they were arrested,” Liton said.

He also claimed to have received phone calls from top officials of railway ministry for their release. It was decided unanimously to release them and take actions after Eid, he added.

Contacted, ASP Tofail Hossain of Rab-5 said, a Rab team rescued the two magistrates around 8:00pm.

Additional District Magistrate of Rajshahi Md Sabet Ali however denied their confinement. “The magistrates conducted a drive and warned the staff to stay away from any irregularities,” he said.