RCC mayor, shop owners call hartal for tomorrow

The Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) mayor and the city's "Shop Owners Association" will jointly enforce an eight-hour hartal in the city tomorrow from 6:00am to protest "deterioration" of the law and order situation and demand arrest of the killers of Awami League leader Imran Hossain.

Mayor Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu and Rejaul Islam Milon, general secretary of the association, jointly announced it during a protest rally at Satmatha intersection in the city yesterday.

However, the legality of the mayor calling hartal was questioned. Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Farid Ahmed told The Daily Start that as mayor he could not call hartal, but as a political leader he could.

Imran, 35, joint secretary of Ward-30 AL and a shop owners' leader, was known as a close associate of Mayor Jhantu, also an AL leader. He was stabbed to death by unidentified criminals on November 10.

This correspondent called the mayor at least twice for his comments, but he never responded.

RCC Information Officer Ador Rahman said that in the last 5-6 months, around 6-7 murders occurred in the city, which the mayor called deterioration of the law and order situation.

The day after the killing, Imran's younger brother Biplob Mia sued 11 men including MA Majid, general secretary of Rangpur district Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation, his nephew Ashraful Alam, joint convener of Rangpur city unit of Jubo League, and several unidentified people.

According to the case, Majid, also labour affairs secretary of Rangpur city AL, and Ashraf killed Imran because the latter protested the two illegally collecting tolls from transport owners at Satmatha. Majid, however, had told a press conference the day before the murder that RCC was illegally collecting tolls at eight points in the city. He did not name the collectors but Imran used to collect tolls at Satmatha on behalf of RCC.

Police have arrested six people but none of them was among the 11 accused.