Transport workers protest 'extortion' by police
Transport workers blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway in the district for 20 minutes yesterday morning to protest, what they said, harassment by the law enforcers.
The workers however postponed their road blockade programme for six hours after Deputy Commissioner Munshi Shahabuddin Ahmed assured them of taking steps to settle the matter.
Police said thousands of transport workers thronged Manikganj bus stand area in the morning and blocked the highway at about 10:10am.
Hundreds of vehicles got stuck on both sides of the highway due to the blockade.
Chandi Chakrabarty, secretary of microbus owners' association, claimed that police regularly collect illegal toll from truck, bus, minibus and microbus drivers on the highway in different ways.
They often file cases against the drivers only to harass them, he added.
The protesters withdrew the blockade at about 10:30am after the DC rushed to the spot and assured them of solving the problem.
However, the workers threatened to siege the highway again if the authorities concerned failed to take any move in this regard in six hours.
Contacted, Assistant Police Superintendent of Manikganj Sadar Circle Md. Jasim Uddin said some influential people instigated the road blockade programme for their 'personal gain'.
He said, DB police seized 170 sacks of relief rice from a shop on Monday night. They also seized the truck that was used for transportation of the rice.
Tarek Khan, brother of AFM Sultanul Azam Khan Apel, president of District Truck Owners' Association sold the relief rice on black market and Monaem Khan, general secretary of the association is the owner of the seized truck. The two leaders organised the programme to save Tarek and to get back the seized truck, the ASP said.
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