Locals block Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways

Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways was suspended for an hour on Wednesday as locals blocked the roads protesting the death of a trader while allegedly under police custody.

Locals said a police team from Bason Police Station arrested four people from Bogra Bypass area on Saturday night on charge of gambling, reports news agency UNB.

Later, police released three of them except Rabiul Islam, 40, a resident of Peyara Bagan in Gazipur city.

On Tuesday night, police went to Rabiul’s house and took his wife’s signature on a white paper, they said.

Soon after that, Rabiul’s wife came to know that Rabiul is no more.

Enraged by Rabiul’s death, locals, equipped with sticks, put up barricades on Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways at around 9:30am, disrupting traffic movement.

They also set two motorbikes on fire.

Police then rushed to the spot and lobbed tear gas shells and used rubber bullets to disperse them.

Vehicular movement on both highways returned to normal at 10:30am after police intervention.

However, Abu Torab Mohammad Shamsur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police, said Rabiul died in a road crash while returning to his home from police lockup.

“The allegation brought by the locals will be investigated,” he said.