Arson attacks, extortion and widespread damage to vehicles is leading to frequent jams along a 53km stretch of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and cutting the port city off from the rest of the country.
Local administration and transport sector officials have recorded at least 50 major incidents of street violence on the highway in the last nine months, with over 1,000 vehicles torched or damaged,
Other than filing dozens of cases accusing several thousand people, law enforcers have so far been powerless to prevent the recurrence of such events that frequently block access into and out of Chittagong.
Police, however, said they have identified around 300 persons for their alleged involvement in arson and violence on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sitakunda, a strategically-suitable place for vandals to paralyse both highway and railway.
Most are activists of the main opposition BNP, its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami or Jamaat’s student wing Islami Chatra Shibir, according to law enforcing agencies and local sources.
AKM Hafiz Akhter, superintendent of police in Chittagong, said they are taking the matter seriously and have made a list of persons who were involved directly with the violence.
“We are conducting drives to nab them,” he said, terming the present situation a “war.”
The Sitakunda portion of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway has been a common ground for violence during the recent anti-government movement and vehicular movements from City Gate to Sitakund upazila sadar are brought to a standstill for hours after every flashpoint.
Protesters target this portion of the highway as they find it is easy to detach the port city and the region from other parts of the country by putting barricades on 15-20 points, said sources.
Syed Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Baro Awlia Highway Police Outpost, told the Dhaka Tribune that everyday around 25,000 vehicles ply the highway through Sitakunda and a long tailback is created if any point of the highway is blocked for even a few minutes.
According to the district administration, law enforcing agencies and local people, the highway was blocked at Sitakunda 50 times due to political reasons in the last nine months while 20 other blockades were caused by accidents and different non-political movements.
Vehicles, either running or parked, become the easy targets of vandals, who torched at least 300 vehicles and vandalised at least 700 others during their mostly political programmes in recent weeks, said Kafil Uddin Ahmed, general secretary of Inter-district Bus Owners’ Association.
He said the construction of a four-lane highway and speed beakers are slowing down the movement of vehicles, making them easy prey for saboteurs. Since there is no alternative to this highway, vehicles loaded with goods and passengers are doomed to fall victims to unwarranted violence and suffer extensive losses.
Police said the massive scale of highway violence erupted after the verdict of war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee on February 28 and continued to escalate during the frequent hartals of Jamaat and the 18-party alliance at the end of October.
Protesters mainly put barricades on the highway at upazila Sadar, Panthishila, Barabkunda, Uttar Bypass, Dakkhin Bypass, Siraz Mia Rastar Matha, Banshbaria, Kumira, Fakirhat, Battol, Linachhara, Madambibirhat, Bhatiari, Boro Darogarhat and some other points, and went on a rampage, damaging vehicles indiscriminately.
When police chased and dispersed them with rubber bullets or teargas, they fled away only to resume violent acts at another point. Tailbacks which formed immediately on the highway made the movement of law-enforcers’ vehicles difficult, giving the vandals enough time to rampage through the area.
Abdul Mannan, deputy commissioner (DC) of Chittagong, termed these incidents “terrorist activities” and said there were 162 small rural roads connecting the 53km stretch of highway which vandals use as escape routes when law enforcers swoop on them.
The deployment of additional policemen, Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion personnel brought no change at all, locals and road users said, referring to the incidents during the last couple of weeks.
Mohammad Shahidullah, additional superintendent of police (north) in Chittagong, refuted the allegation of failure and said about 50 cases were lodged with Sitakunda Police Station in the last 10 months over different violent incidents, and that highway patrols have been intensified.
Mrinal Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Paribahan Sramik Fedaration (East), said some protesters sought money from a truck driver on November 16 during violence and threatened to set the truck on fire if payment was not made. The driver saved his truck only by paying Tk5,000 to the protesters, he said.
Lawmaker ABM Abul Kashem of Chittagong-3 constituency told the Dhaka Tribune that local BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury led the violence by giving financial support and shelter.
“Aslam organises BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men for violence in exchange for money and helping them flee to the remote hills of the upazila afterwards,” he said.
Upazila Chairman Abdullah Al Baker Bhiuyan said his vice-chairman and local Jamaat-e-Islami leader Advocate Mostofa Nur, along with two other leaders Abu Taher and Shafiqul Mawla, are the key perpetrators who mobilise Jamaat-Shibir men from other areas of the district for conducting subversive activities.
Repeated attempts made by the Dhaka Tribune to reach Aslam Chowdhury and Advocate Mostafa failed as their mobile phones found switched off.
