Police have filed six cases against 195 inhabitants of Sitakunda’s Jungle Salimpur area on the charge of attacking police and carrying out vandalism during their demonstrations blocking the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
The cases were filed between Tuesday night and Wednesday noon.
Among the 195 accused, 45 were named and the rest unnamed, said Abul Kalam Azad, officer In-charge (OC) of Sitakunda police station.
On Tuesday, thousands of people from Sitakunda’s Jungle Salimpur and Alinagar areas blocked the busy Dhaka-Chittagong highway protesting the local administration’s attempt to evict them from their lands and disconnect electricity and water supply lines to their houses.
The blockade created a 30-kilometer-long tailback on both sides of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway – the country’s main economic lifeline.
Thousands of commuters had to undergo immense suffering due to the gridlock.
Around 5:00pm, a clash began between the protesters and the police when the latter tried to put an end to the blockade.
A chase and counter-chase along with the hurling of brickbats turned the area into a battlefield.
Police used tear gas and mortar shells which finally dispersed the protestors.