Bangla Press Desk: Leaders and activists of Islami Jubo Andolan, the youth wing of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, have ended a nearly two-hour blockade of the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Narayanganj’s Bandar over the killing of one of their leaders.
The protesters took to the highway in the Madanpur area around 9:00 am on Friday, disrupting traffic in both directions and causing tailbacks stretching several kilometres.
They lifted the blockade around 11:00 am and traffic has since resumed, said Shamim Sheikh, chief of Kanchpur Highway Police Station.
Earlier, Shamim said the protesters had been burning tyres, bamboo and wood on the road as police and administration officials tried to persuade them to end the blockade.
Bulbul Ahmed, 35, was killed in the Salehnagar area of Bandar on Thursday night. He was the son of Raja Master of the nearby Shahi Masjid area.
The site of the attack falls under Ward 21 of Narayanganj City Corporation.
Mufti Masum Billah, president of Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Narayanganj metropolitan unit, said Bulbul was joint secretary of the Bandar Thana (West) unit of Islami Jubo Andolan.
Masum said Bulbul’s garage had been attacked and looted during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. Bulbul later filed a case over the incident, naming Sheikh Sifat, whom Masum described as the leader of a local “teen gang”, and members of his group.
Masum alleged that Sifat and his associates attacked Bulbul in Salehnagar in retaliation for that case.
During the blockade, Islami Andolan leaders and activists had warned that they would not leave the highway unless Sifat and others accused of the killing were arrested.
In Facebook Live broadcasts, protesters demanded justice for Bulbul and called for those responsible for his killing to face the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Bandar Police chief Jamal Uddin said around 10:45 am that police had detained nine people, including Sifat, the main suspect in the killing.
A murder case had yet to be filed at the time, he said, adding that the process was under way.
