Highways blocked protesting death in accident, robberies
Aggrieved at the death of BNP activist Yunus Munshi, 43, in a road accident near Haji Shariatulla Bridge in Madaripur district, locals block Dhaka-Khulna highway, causing suspension of vehicular movement on the busy road for two and a half hours. Photo: STAR
Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Khulna highway in Madaripur came to a halt for two and a half hours yesterday as locals protested the death of a BNP leader in a road accident. Meanwhile, locals in Brahmanbaria blocked Dhaka-Sylhet highway for about three hours to protest frequent robberies. Madaripur police said Yunus Munshi, 43, died on the spot when a Dhaka-bound BRTC bus hit his motorbike near Haji Shariatullah Bridge around 10:00am. The deceased was the president of BNP's Dattapara union unit under Shibchar upazila. After the news spread, BNP activists along with the locals blocked the highway by burning tyres and putting logs that created a huge tailback of around 400 vehicles. The mob also vandalised a bus, reports our Madaripur correspondent. The blockade was withdrawn around 12:30pm when police assured them of taking legal action against the killer bus driver. In Brahmanbaria, people blocked Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Sarail upazila after robbers looted about 50 mobile sets and cash from the passengers of at least five buses in Islamabad Gugod area around 5:30am, Nazrul, a victim of the robbery, told this correspondent. Hearing cries of the passengers, locals rushed in and caught two of the robbers and gave them a good beating. The other members of the gang, however, managed to flee the scene. On information, highway police reached the spot and took the robbers -- Jashim Uddin, 27, and Jamir Hossain, 27 -- to Sarail police station. Locals demanded that police patrol on the highway be beefed up to stop such robbery, reports our Brahmanbaria correspondent. Transport movement became normal around 8:30am after Md Giasuddin, officer in-charge of Sarail police station, assured them of meeting their demand.
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