Auto-rickshaw drivers block Savar highway, demand end to “extortion”
8-10 including one policeman injured
Battery-run auto-rickshaw drivers blocked Savar's Nabinagar-Chandra highway to protest what they claim is "police extortion" this afternoon (June 27, 2022).
Thousands of drivers blocked the highway's Palli Bidyut area around 12pm. They burned tyres along the side of the road in protest.
The drivers also clashed with police, who were trying to remove the blockade. One police personnel was also hurt in the incident.
Several vehicles have been left vandalised. The protest led to two km long traffic jam on both sides of the highway for one hour till 1pm, reports our local correspondent.
However, police charged baton on the demonstrators and managed to remove them from the highway around 1pm, said Ashulia Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Kamruzzaman.
The OC said that one policeman was injured when protestors threw brickbats at them while they were working on removing the blockade.
According to the auto-rickshaw drivers, at least eight to ten of the protesters sustained injuries during the police action. The injured received primary treatment from local hospitals.
Meanwhile, Officer-in-Charge of Savar Highway Police Station Atikur Rahman, said, "Battery-run auto-rickshaws are banned on highways. We seize and fine them if they are seen on the highway. A fine of Tk 2,500 is collected through Ucash from the drivers and a receipt is also given. There is no place for extortion."