Activist Sohani Shifa, president of the Dhaka Bachao (Save Dhaka) organization, was detained by police while staging a symbolic protest by setting up a rice stall in front of the Secretariat in the capital. She was released about two hours later after signing a bond.
A video showing her detention in front of the secretariat circulated widely on social media on Sunday afternoon.
According to local residents, Sohani had been campaigning over the past several days, demanding that roads and footpaths in front of Metro Rail stations in Dhaka be cleared of street vendors. As part of the campaign, she set up the temporary rice stall on Sunday.
In a social media post on Saturday, she announced that she would open the stall in protest against the occupation of roads and footpaths adjacent to Metro Rail stations. She said rice, lentils, and mashed potatoes would be served for Tk 10 per meal.
Police from Shahbagh Police Station detained her along with the food cart shortly after she began serving meals at around 12pm and took her to the police station.
Sheikh Zahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of the Ramna Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said: “Rice and other cooked food were being sold on the footpath in an unhygienic environment. Therefore, she was removed from the location. She was later released after signing a bond.”
