Hundreds of colourful arches have been installed over a 50-kilometre stretch between Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar to welcome home the controversial local member of parliament, Abdur Rahman Bodi.
Bodi is returning to his constituency on Thursday having secured a six-month interim bail after being sentenced to jail for three years in a case filed by the anti-corruption commission.
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Bodi’s homecoming extravaganza also includes a huge motorcade and gathering of hundreds of motorbikes starting from Cox’s Bazar, 86km from Teknaf.
Sources said all microbuses operating on Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar route had been asked to be present to carry supporters of the rulin Awami League.
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“Here in Teknaf we haven’t seen anything like this. The ruling party must have spent hundreds of thousands of Taka for the event,” said a trader in Teknaf market.
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Some local businessmen have alleged "rampant extortion" by the ruling party men to raise the money for the occasion of Bodi’s homecoming.
“We cannot talk about it openly,” said a trader. “Every businessman in Teknaf had to financially contribute to the event in which a convicted man returns.”
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A microbus driver who refused to be named said Bodi has so much money and power, he has an army of thugs with him.
“They control human trafficking business, Yaba smuggling from Myanmar, and various other narcotics in Teknaf,” he said.
On November 2 a special judge’s court jailed Bodi for three years in a case filed for deliberately concealing his wealth information. He was granted bail by an appeal court on November 15.